The End is Nigh - The End of the Year That Is!

Here's a quick update on my 2018 goals along with the current status (Goals are listed in orange). Less than a month to get everything checked off! 

• Run 1009 miles - me and a friend are splitting 2018 miles
• BOOM! Mission accomplished a full MONTH early!

Accomplished on Nov. 29!

• Run 18 races
• Well, even if I just count the Savannah Rock n Roll races as 1 race (when I actually ran 3) I would be at 18 races as of right now and I still have 2 more this year. I will be running the Huntersville Half Marathon this coming weekend and The Santa Dash 8K the following weekend. So I'm calling it 20 races for the year.  

• Place in 4 races
• Y'all this is one goal that I was super excited about exceeding. So as of last check in, I had hit 6 placings. And guess what?! I managed one more since then! I placed 1st AG in the Great Pumpkin 5K!!  I went in with the goal to bring home a pumpkin and I DID! Total of 7 placements for 2018. Not too shabby! 

I came, I ran, I achieved pumpkin

• 1200 Twitter followers
• Done and Done! I just surpassed 1400 followers! 

• 1000 Instagram followers
• Not sure if I am gonna make this one. Currently at 879. I've upped my Instagram game a bit, but it is still slow going. Will be happy if I can get to 900. If you have any Insta tips, please post in the comments. This will be a bigger focus in 2019.

• Run 4 Half Marathons with a new PR in at least 1
• 3 down, with 1 more registered for: 
• New PR at Tobacco Road - 2:07
• Even newer PR at Rock n Roll Savannah - 2:05
• Running Huntersville Half on Dec. 8th, but not racing it. Gonna pace a friend.

• Do an Obstacle Race (Warrior Dash) 
• Done and done! This was a total blast. So much fun! I can't wait to run it again Although one of my friends is trying to convince us to upgrade to the Spartan. We'll see...

Our crazy messy crew

• Renew as BibRave Pro

• So exited to say that I have achieved this goal! I have absolutely LOVED being a BibRave Pro and am stoked about being on board for another year. I've been able to test out some really amazing items this year (my favorites probably being Aftershokz and OOFS) and run some really fun races (2 Hot Chocolate races, Tobacco Road and Rock n Roll Savannah). But more than that, I am so thankful for the community of runners that I have gotten to meet over the past year. I cannot wait for the amazing opportunities that 2019 will hold for me with BibRave. I already have my first 2 2019 BibRave races scheduled, Hot Chocolate Charlotte on Jan. 19 and Tobacco Road Marathon (my first ever) on Mar. 17. Check out the notes at the bottom of this post for details on how you can join me at these races including discount codes! 

• Blog more - 4 per month at least 
• Some month's have been better than others (I'm looking at you, May and August) but I can say that I have overall done a much better job of blogging than in 2017.  So far I am at 46 (including this post) for the year, which averages out to 4.1 posts per month which is so I'm calling it a win. I am going to be focusing even more on Blog building in 2019.

• Keep a consistent training plan/journal (Using the Believe Training Journal) 
• Ummmm... pass. Yeah, I suck. Said amazing training journal has sat in my desk drawer, cold and unloved. I am having a bit more luck with the pocket calendar, but mostly for scheduling BibRave stuff, not training. Training is mainly on an Excel spreadsheet. Recommend a system that you love for me to try in the comments below to help a girl out. 

Looking Foward - Join Me on the Road in 2019

As I mentioned above, I already have a few 2019 lined up. 

I'm so excited about running my 3rd Hot Chocolate 15K (2nd Charlotte one) on January 19th. Not only do I think that 15K is the perfect distance (right around the 10 mile mark, I start to think to myself - Why am I still running? - but there is CHOCOLATE at the finish. Not just Hot Chocolate mind you, but all manner of yummies! Plus, their swag is legit some of the best race swag ever (see the pic to the right) Join me and register with discount code BRHCCharlotte and you get not only the medal, the jacket (so worth the registration fee alone) the chocolate and goodies (YUM), but also a really cool branded arm band for holding your phone while running. There is also a 5K option, but heads up that you do not get a medal for this. You still get the jacket, goodies and the arm band (with the discount code). 

Tobacco Road Marathon on March 17th will be MY EVER FIRST MARATHON at Tobacco Road!! I have already started training with the BibRave and Aftershokz #262Squad and am on Week 4 of training. You can join me at Tobacco Road, register with discount code trmrave19 for $20 off either the Half or the Full - https://tobaccoroadmarathon.com 

You can also join the #262Squad Marathon Training Program here: 262squad.aftershokz.com/
Download the plan on the Motigo App and join in anytime. You will receive a full 18 week training plan that consists of 4 running days per week, many of which have helpful audio cues that play throughout your run. I'm loving it so far!. 

How about you? Tell me how your 2018 is going so far. Feel free to follow me on Twitter or Instagram if you haven't already to help me meet those 2018 number too. 

Are you looking at 2019 yet? If so, what do you have planned?