2013 is "Shaping Up" nicely

...back to training...the body is getting back into shape...
....back to planning...the 2013 Tour Schedule is seriously taking shape!

I started back training this week.  I'm not going to lie, it's been a little rough.  So far I've been pleasantly surprised to find I have lost MAJOR ground.  My lifting workouts and ab workouts have left me pleasantly sore but not ridiculously so.  My first run back I surprised myself by running a little over 30 second per mile faster than I thought I would and while my heart was pounding, I wasn't dying.  I have, however, been REALLY tired and not very motivated.  I know I'm not fueling properly and have been working on that.  I tend to gravitate towards fresh fruits and veggies and while I eat a LOT of them throughout the day, they are very low calorie and just don't fuel the activity levels I maintain.  I have taken steps to add extra protein this week, but I know I'm still falling short on protein as well as carbs to power my workouts.  I'll keep working on it.

As for the Tour Schedule....I have now registered for nearly all of my 2013 races!!  And I've booked my flights for all but 3.  I am currently waiting to hear back from a particular race in New Mexico.  They haven't announced their 2013 date yet, but if it falls on the same weekend as previous years I will be doing it as a triple weekend.  As soon as I hear back from them I will be booking the airfare for that weekend as well.   As of now, here's the Tour Schedule:
- 2/24 RNR New Orleans
- 3/3 Little Rock
- 3/16 RNR USA
- 3/17 New Bedford
- 3/30 Lexington Bluegrass
- 4/6 Dorchester Crab Run
- 4/27 Nashville Country Music half
- 5/19 RNR Portland
- 6/7&8 Bear Lake ID & UT
- 6/9 Run the Caldera (tentative/awaiting confirmation of date)
- 6/22 Mayor's Midnight Sun
- 7/14 Shipyard Old Port (not registered yet)
- 7/21 RNR Chicago
- 8/4 RNR Pitt
- 9/1 RNR VA Beach
- 9/15 RNR Philly
- 9/16-20 Center of the Nation Series (ND, SD, WY, MT, NE) (not registered yet)
- 9/22 Biggest Loser Racine
- 9/29 RNR Providence
- 11/3 Manchester Half (not registered yet)
- 11/9 RNR Savannah
- 11/24 Route 66 (not registered yet)

With most of my registrations and reservations complete, the Tour is really taking shape!  Now to continue working on shaping up my body so I can pull this all off and reach my goals!

A New Year - New Goals

I don't make New Year Resolutions...I never have.  I constantly look for ways I can improve myself and when I see an area that needs attention I start paying attention and work on it.  It's not a once a year declaration that I'm going to do XYZ to better myself, it's an ongoing process to keep growing.  I do, however, set running goals for each year.  After such a huge running year in 2012 I have set some pretty lofty goals and I am excited to tackle them!  I will begin running again next week.  I've wanted to for a while, but it's been so long I am going to be starting back at the drag your butt out the door and hate the run stage for a while.  It's ok though...my foot doesn't hurt anymore...and I know it'll get better and do me good.  Last fall I'd decided my goal for 2013 was going to be speed and I'd targeted the Lexington Bluegrass on 3/30 to break 2 hours for the first time.  Then I blew that away in the fall without even trying for speed.  As December wound to a close I'd decided my goal for 2013 was going to be to hit Sun Status in the Half Fanatics as it is for 365 days vs. a calendar year so all of my fall doubles would help out.  I laid out a plan of how I could do it without breaking the bank.  Part of that plan included repeating some states I'd previously run (but not within the last 365 days) to save on travel costs.  That fed a second goal...if I had to repeat states I would pick Rock N Roll series races as 1) I LOVE the series and always enjoy the events & 2) I could also go for my third Rock Idol in 2013 and therefore be Legacy Rock Idol. 

Funny how my goals grow, huh? 

Well, after putting together my spreadsheet and tweaking it several times I realized that with the schedule laid out I would finish 2013 with only 2-3 states remaining.  The last few weeks I have tweaked my spreadsheet even more and while I haven't completely committed to the goal I'm leaning HEAVILY towards finishing all 50 states plus DC in 2013.  I'm starting to get anxious about wanting to attempt a full but I want to finish all of my states first.  I'm also starting to think I'd eventually like to work on time enough to BQ.  (long term goals here)  So, this past weekend I spent registering for races, booking flights, hotels, and cars, and coordinating with running friends for various races! 

My 2013 Tour Schedule:
- RNR New Orleans 2/24 - registered
- Little Rock 3/3 - registered
- RNR USA 3/16 - registered
- New Bedford 3/17 - registered
- Lexington Bluegrass 3/30 - registered
- Dorchester Crab Run 4/6 - registered
- Country Music 4/27 - registered
- Portland RNR 5/19 - tentative
- Bear Lake Idaho - plan to register this weekend
- Bear Lake Utah - plan to register this weekend
- Mayors Midnight Sun 6/22 - plan to register this weekend
- Shipyard old Port 7/14 - tentative
- RNR Chicago 7/21 - tentative
- RNR Pitt 8/4 - tentative
- RNR Va Beach - registered
- RNR Philly - registered
- Center of the Nation Series - plan to register this weekend (flight already booked)
- Biggest Loser Racine - registered
- Providence RNR - tentative
- Brooklyn RNR - tentative
- Savannah RNR - tentative
- Manchester - tentative
- Route 66 - tentative

Additionally I will be picking one of the following New Mexico races (awaiting feedback from one RD):
- Albuquerque 4/20
- Shiprock 5/6
- Run the Caldera 6/9  (date tentative, not yet announced)
- Albuquerque 8/11

My longest streak in 2013 will be Philly (9/15) through Racine (9/22) during which I will run 7 1/2s in 7 states in 8 days (had to travel Saturday...no way around that). 

I'm also considering potentially using some of these runs for fund raising for charity.  There are a few causes I'd really like to support and I'm weighing those out mentally over the next few weeks. 

As this year progresses I intend on additionally working to get my time down even further, but I haven't set any time related goals as I know it will take me a bit to regain the strength I had in the fall and I need to see how the foot holds up.  That said, a major goal for the year is to stay healthy!  So there you have it folks...hold me accountable! 

Michelle's 2013 Goal's are:
- Run healthy
- Rock Idol
- Sun Status
- complete all 50 States + DC
- set a PR

What are your 2013 goals?  No one plans to fail...they just fail to plan!