Sept in Numbers

1 day without a post. I was participating in two challenges (Fitness writing challenge with Fitness Cheerleader and NaBloPoMo: Eye). Turns out, I found I had a lot to share this month, so I didn't need to rely on the prompts for ideas.
33 posts published in Sept. I think this is probably the most I've ever blogged in one month. Even though I missed that one day, I ended up posting more than once a few days. I'd say it was a good month. :) Still, now that I'm working full time, I doubt I'll be as consistent. I'm shooting for 3-5 posts per week.
23 photos submitted for the #runnerdphotoaday challenge. There were a few days that I just wasn't inspired and a few days that I simply forgot. It was a really fun challenge, though! The prompts were very creative.
2 job interviews. I only had two interview this months, but that's all I needed since I got hired after the second one. Well, actually during the second one. I just needed to wait for a drug screen and then for an official offer to be extended.
6 days I spent waiting to start my new job. The offer was extended on a Tues, but I didn't start until the following Monday. I was so excited to start, but I also didn't want to give up my lazy schedule too soon.
5 days spent working at my new job. Whoo hoo! The first week went quite well. I made a few mistakes, but nothing too major. On day 4, the girl who is training me said, "I'm glad we hired you. You're catching on really fast and you're very efficient." Yay!
45 miles biked to/from work. I'm officially a bike commuter! I biked about 5 miles each way. On Thurs, I changed up my route a bit. It adds a tiny bit of distance, but not really any time. The new route cuts out the scariest busiest sections of my previous route, so I feel even safer. Sweet!
60 miles logged running. Goal ACHIEVED! I took a couple unscheduled rest days because my knee was bothering me, but I'd kind of worked a little leeway into my plan. I've got 80 miles on the schedule for Oct. Wish me luck! Check out my Running Calendar (tab at the top) to see how I've broken this down.
146 meals donated to hungry people through Feeding America and the World Food Programme via CharityMiles. Every commute to/from work, I start up CharityMiles. I feel even better about commuting because I get to help others while I'm doing it. I'm not financially sound enough right now to actually make monetary donations, so I can at least donate my time - which isn't really much of a donation, since I'm doing it anyway. I also donated to a few other charities throughout the month, but since Sept was Hunger Action Month, I chose to focus on these two charities. Please take my poll above to help me decide which charity I should support in Oct.

How was your September? Did you achieve your goals?
Do you use CharityMiles? Which is your favorite charity?
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Looking Back

Where did 2011 go? I feel like this year really flew by! It was such a great, fun, stressful, overwhelming, encouraging, exciting, terrifying, fantastic year.

Looking back I realized just how little I blogged about some of the greater events this past year.

Well, I guess at least you can get a little taste of them here in this recap.

Just for fun (and because I've been meaning to for quite awhile now), I'm going to link this list up with Stasha over at The Good Life.

Yes, I'm fully aware that it's far from Monday, but I've still got a few more hours to add my link.

So, here's my Top 10 of 2011...

10. Jeff and I got certified as SCUBA divers. This was definitely a challenge for me! But ultimately, I bucked up and finished. We've only done lake diving in MN and WI and are now really looking forward to getting to the ocean one day.

9. We did some volunteer work on the Mississippi.

8. I joined my friend Laura for a women's Pedal and Paddle weekend. I can’t believe I never got around to blogging about the trip. Ugh. This was an hilarious weekend spent with women I didn't know. We pedaled. We paddled. We laughed. A lot. It was exhausting, but I'd love to do it again! 

7. I read and studied. A lot!

6. I passed the MTLE. This was a huge relief. I was so stressed about the test and SO happy to get the results.

5. I joined DailyMile in April and enjoyed tracking all my workouts.

Total mileage - 926.74, since April

4. I became a runner (again)! I already wrote a running recap. You can check it out here.

Total Running Miles - 392.2 since April

3. We spent a week and a half in Costa Rica. It was beautiful, fun, relaxing - just as any good vacation should be. I never ended up blogging about the trip. So sad! We spent a few days at the Arenal Volcano Lodge. It was cloudy much of the time, but we did get to see the top of the volcano one afternoon. Yes, it is an active volcano. No, it didn't erupt while we were there. We also we for a horseback tour (did not enjoy it) around the base of the volcano and ziplining (loved it) through the canopy. I did post some pics to FB here. The rest of the time in Costa Rica was spent on the Pacific coast in a little surfer village outside of Nosara. It was a trip and a half to drive through the poor roads, but a great adventure! This leg of the trip was just lots of sunsets, playing in the ocean, relaxing, and monkeys in trees. Go here for some more pictures, if you'd like.

2. I completed all my requirements (assuming I finish my e-portfolio by tomorrow night) to be able to student teach. There were many, many times when I felt like quitting, like it wasn't worth it. BUT I eventually overcame my defeatist attitude and I managed to knock it out of the ballpark!!!

 
And my #1 accomplishment for 2011 ...

1. I exceeded by blogging goal! Sweet!! I know this seems weird since I had so many blogging fails, but I did manage at least one post every month. :-)

What's up for 2012?

I'll be doing a Resolution post later, but here are few key events on the calendar already 

• Student teaching
• Swimming with the sharks at SeaLife MN
• Trip to Vegas with some college girlfriends
• Grandma's Marathon
• Cross-country move

2012 is gonna be EPIC!

Best of 2011: The Running Edition

NOTE: I'm not sure yet if there will be other editions, but this one is definitely specific to running. It's been a great year!

I found this on RunToTheFinish, but it's originally from Miss Zippy. She asked her readers to share some running highlights from the past year, and I thought it would make for a great post.

So, here is my Best of 2011.

Best race experience? I think I'll have to go with the Urban Wildland Half Marathon. I'm not going to say it was easy, but I did it! It was my first in many years. I got to meet a couple DM friends. My sister ran it, too. Best of all, my husband met me at a couple points along the course, which made me smile. :-)

Best run? I had quite a few good runs this year. It's the year I really decided to get back into running. My first inclination for my best run; however, was my first run with Twin Cities Running Experiment (TCRE). It wasn't easy. I had to make us stop a couple times, and I got home to bloody toes. BUT it was the best run because a) I made a new running friend. Most of the group was a lot faster than me, but she ran with me and we paced each other pretty well. b) We talked almost the entire time, which made the 1hour+ run go by very fast. And c) Our overall pace was 9:40, which is something I never thought possible for that kind of distance. This run showed me just how fast I could go and still have fun while doing it! It was pretty shocking and eye-opening.

Best new piece of gear? I didn't really get a lot of new gear this year, but I'm having a hard time deciding between the amphipod Hydraform Handheld Thermal-Lite and the iFitness Ultimate Race Belt. Both of these items were really, really helpful to me throughout my running this year. I love the ease and convenience of always having water with me, but I also liked being able to run with my phone and not having to use safety pins during my races. So, I'm just going to have to leave it at a tie.

Best piece of running advice you received? Well, I guess it's probably not exactly running advice, but a friend told me about DailyMile back in April, and I joined. I love being able to track my runs (and other activities), but even more than that I've loved meeting new running friends. I've met a few irl now, and it's been great to connect with other runners. Best of all, through a fellow DM'er, I found TCRE.

Most inspirational runner? I'm going with a tie on this one, too. My first thought was Lauren @ The Running Cook (now Sweat-Junkie). Hers was one of the first running-themed blog I discovered that I really connected with. She was training for her first marathon but got back injury just weeks beforehand. She's now starting to get back into it, but it's a slow process. She inspires me not only because she remained upbeat despite her injury and DNS, but because she didn't push beyond her limits even though she wanted to. Sometimes we've just got to listen to our bodies...and for runners, sometimes that really hard to do.

My second most inspirational runner is Tyly @ one mile at a time. She's just got the cutest smile and some really fun running outfits. 2011 has been a very difficult year for her in a non-running-related way. As for running, she's totally rocked it with several PRs, I believe. I don't know why, but her blog is no longer public. I hope she comes back soon.

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? I became a runner! I'm planning on writing up my running story in a separate blog sometime in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned for further explanation on this answer.

So there you have it. My Best of 2011. What a great year!

What's your Best of 2011?