Reflect/Reset December 2022 & January 2023
Reflect/Reset is a series on the blog and will be published at the beginning of the month. In this series of blog posts, I will be sharing details about the previous month of training and sharing my training plans for the month ahead. I will reflect on the past month and reset to create space for the experiences that await in the new month.
Reflect: December
Last month of the year and it felt like the best one of the year. Why? Three reasons: (1) I participated in a relay with three incredible women (recap is linked below); (2) Running was very fluid so that I could go into marathon training feeling fresh and excited; and (3) Season 2 of the Runner’s Round Table podcast kicked off and I spent a good part of the month having fun and informative conversations with female run coaches. Basically, I got to run for fun, I got to race with people who inspire me, and I got to talk to people about something I’m really passionate about. I truly couldn’t have asked for a better end to the calendar year because it set me up to feel ready to tackle my running goals in 2023 and motivated me to do more to connect to this incredible running community of mine.
december Stats:
120 miles total
30 miles average weekly
19 runs total
Longest run: 11.19 miles
Shortest run: 3.33 miles
Favorite workout: Bridge repeats, but in Clearwater! Nothing like a change of scenery to reinvigorate the sense of accomplishment that comes from hard running.
Most memorable moment: Sunday, December 11th’s group marathon relay for the Garden of Life Palm Beaches race.
What supported running this month: Taking a step back from a more structured schedule. I’m so grateful my coach gave me a lot of leeway this month and encouraged me to do the things that would help me rest so that I can be physically and mentally fresh once marathon training starts.
Reset: January
The time is finally here to start training for the London Marathon. Yes, I have been running this entire time and my long runs have been around 8-10 miles, but there’s a mental shift that comes from knowing that training will go beyond the half marathon distance. So, as I look ahead to the month of January, I feel excited, nervous, and just a tad bit scared because marathons are a mixed bag and I never know what to expect out of the process. I’m curious as to how I will feel training for a marathon in the winter/spring months and plan on focusing a lot of my mental effort on the “I get to do this” mentality. Aside from starting up marathon training, my annual tradition of the Miami Half Marathon takes place on Sunday, January 29th. There will be no time goals with this race as, historically, this hasn’t been a strong race for me time-wise, but also because this race fits into the greater marathon training block. I hope I can inject as much joy as possible into the process of running this month and that I am more intentional with giving my body the rest it needs to perform how I want it to perform.
Note: You can support me on the road to London by donation to my #TeamSunshine Rays of Sunshine fundraising campaign here.
