2011 Year in Review

What a year!  2011 is the year I became a runner!  If you told me a year ago that I would be typing this, I would have laughed at you!  The idea of running in the Disney Princess Half Marathon just came to me one day in mid-January.  I knew that I need a big goal to get me moving to lose weight.  Since I love all things Disney, the Princess Half was a perfect fit for me.  From the day I made this my goal I put myself on this path.  I started running at the gym the next day…and, as they say, the rest is history.

Running has given me a confidence I never knew before.  I have witnessed my body do things that I never thought I was capable of.   I have made some the wonderful and supportive friends, some I know I will be friends with forever.  I have found a new way to bond with my sisters.  I can never thank running enough for all of the things it has given me.

I have done several races this year, in length from 5ks to 10 milers.  My very first race every was in June.  It was the Baltimore Women’s Classic.  I had no idea what to expect, but had a great time.  From that time on, I was hooked!  I decided then that I would try to do one race each month for the rest of the year.  I am happy to report that I accomplished that goal.  In July I did the Full Moon Run, then in August I did the York Rail Trail 10 miler.  This was my most difficult race to date, but I did it!  Finishing gave me so much confidence in my abilities as a runner.  I knew that if I could finish the 10 miler in the August heat, I would be fine to finish the Princess Half—my ultimate goal.  I finished out the fall with the 9/11 run, the Wrightsville Bridge Run and the Turkey Trot.  As long as weather permits, I will do doing a New Year’s Eve run to finish out the year, and get 2012 started on the right foot.

Looking back on all of these accomplishments, I am truly amazed where this year has taken me.  To celebrate, I registered today for the 2012 Baltimore Women’s Classic.  It was my first race ever, any my favorite (the swag bag was amazing!).  My ultimate goal—finishing the Disney Princess Half Marathon will be accomplished in just eight weeks!  All of this hard work over the past year has been very worth it!

Where did 2011 take you?  Was this expected or unexpected?  What would you change if you could?

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

York YMCA Turkey Trot 2011

Instead of sleeping in on Thanksgiving this year, I decided to start my Thanksgiving off with a 5k race, the York YMCA Turkey Trot.  I got up before the sun came up, got dressed and looked over Black Friday Sale papers before my sister came over.  We headed off to the race early to be sure to get a place to park. 

When my sister and I arrived at the YMCA, we walked to packet pick up area since we both had preregistered.  The instructions given there were to look on a posted list for our name and bib number, then go to the bib table and ask for our assigned bib number.  Neither of our bibs were where they were supposed to be.  The volunteers were very less than helpful.  They told us to go inside and find the race director for help.  After looking for about twenty minutes, we found the race directors.  She went out to packet pickup with us and she quickly found our bibs.  The volunteers had gotten the bibs out of order and were unwilling to spend more than a second looking for our bibs.  You get what you pay for I guess.  Good thing we came early. 

Once the bib mishap was resolved, my sister I and went to meet up with a few friends and line up at the start.  I mayor and the head of the YMCA got the race started.  I really enjoyed the course of this race.  The race started on Market Street, running past the old town square that is over 300 years old.  We then run south toward York College, my alma mater.  The campus was empty, except for the runner of course.  I had never seen the campus so empty.  We ran past most of the dorms, then back into town on the rail trail.  The beginning, like most races, felt a bit crowded but the crowd spread out pretty quickly.  The end was also crowded on the rail trail, since the trail is only four feet wide.  I enjoyed seeing all the local families sitting on their porches cheering the runners on. 

I costumes for this race were great!  So many people and groups dressed up.  We saw one family dressed as chefs, ranging from a toddler to Grand mom.  There were also lots of turkey hats.  Our friends, Erin and Will, made some really cute shirts with “hand” turkeys and brightly colors feathers.

This race was a PR for me!  My time was 37:45.  The race contained two hills, one entering the college and one just before getting to the rail trail.  I ran most of the race, but walked the hills as not to get to tired or winded.  As I said before, this was a really good course.  There was a great mix of city and trail, mostly flat but some hills.  Everyone together celebrating was a perfect way to get into the Thanksgiving spirit.  This is certainly a race I will be doing annually.  Thank you to the YMCA for organizing such a great event.

A dream is a wish…

Amy—

***The winner of my Road ID gift card is Suzanne Westenhofer.  Please email me at amysmith7@comcast.net with your mailing address and I will get it right out to you!