Back on New Year’s Eve, I made myself a goal. I’d run (not walk) 500 miles in 2013. I knew it’d be a challenge, and that I’d be cutting it close.
On October 18, I reached my goal.
In 500 miles, I
ran in the rain (the last 1/2 mile of the 500, actually)
ran through all four seasons, from 30 degrees to 90 degrees
participated in well over 20 group and/or virtual 5Ks, plus a couple of 10Ks
trained for and finished my first half marathon
pushed a 25 pound child while he ate a lot of snacks
watched three kids bike around and around (and around) the high school track
climbed hills surrounded by corn fields
got discouraged and encouraged
got sprayed with color bombs in the Color Me Rad
proved I was tougher than I thought in the Warrior Dash
kicked some butt in the Dirty Girl 5K
ran the fastest I’d ever run
and the slowest
bonded with my mom over tutus and tiaras, steep hills, and mud pits
logged a lot of miles on the treadmill in our living room
watched three seasons of Downton Abbey and a lot of The Voice
tracked the miles with a couple of apps and ended up scrawling them on the kitchen wall calendar
discovered that I could do it.
I had absolutely no doubt that you could do it – and look at you, you look fabulous!!
So, another 100 miles by December 31? 🙂
Thank you so much, Alison! And yeah…I think so. Ha! Training for a half racks up the miles. 😀
You are amazing and inspirational! I'm going to set a goal like this for myself for 2014…and I'm in the process of talking myself into doing the Hartford MARATHON next year!
Yay, I love to hear that!! And ohmygoodness, I will be cheering you on like crazy if you do it, girl!!
Your commitment is truly inspiring. And with 4 lil ones! I'm so proud of you and hope I can do something similar after baby. You will be on my mind while I do it……… So when that time comes expect lots of messages with me begging for encouragement. Great job!!!
I will gladly answer any and all messages, Amanda!! Thanks, girl!
You are amaze-balls!! I'm starting my venture this week.. not with running – yet.. but slowly with bootcamp and believe it or not, you've been a subliminal reason for that. So see.. you win for more reasons than just your accomplishments. You're encouraging others 🙂
Aw, thank you so much, Kristen!! I lvoe to hear that…it's what kept me going a lot of days.
I am so incredibly proud of- and inspired by- you. You rock!
Thank you, thank you, Keely!
Congrats!! This is amazing!! I just lift weights to work out…this just floors me. Amazing!
You *just* lift weights. PSH! You rock. Thank you, Julie!
Woot-woot! What an inspiring accomplishment. Congratulations, Greta!
Thank you so much, Cheryl!
Awesome does not even begin to describe you. What an inspiration you are to so many, on so many levels. You rock Greta!
Aw, thank you so, so much, Farrah!! You guys absolutely pushed me and got me through it.
Congratulations!! Your goal inspired me to set one of my own (much lower!!) so I loved seeing your count go up. Amazing job!
Awesome, Michelle!! Thank you so much!
Girl, you are amazing. I'm so proud of you for pushing yourself to accomplish your goal. I'm inspired to do something like this of my own next year.
Thank you, Kristin! You totally should…it was amazing how just having the goal (which really did seem kind of impossible in the beginning) kept me going and kept me consistent.
So proud of you, woman! You are an inspiration! I'm not in the best shape, but I think I might try a walking version of your 500 miles next year! You are my hero! You are awesome!
Aw, thank you, Sara!! You should, it's a really awesome way to hold yourself accountable!
Yay! So very happy for you! Such an amazing accomplishment, Greta – congratulations!!
Thank you, Kim!!
I'm so impressed! Seriously – you've been an inspiration to me that shows that I can get out and do this stuff too. I'm forever a year behind Greta, but I'm doing my best to keep up. Thank you for the inspiration! And congrats! Does this mean you'll do 600 in 2014?
Awesome, thank you, Tara!! I LOVE to hear that. It's all of you that cheered me on as the numbers crept up that kept me going, honestly. That and possibly some stubbornness on my part. HA. I can't wait to cheer you on!!
[…] blurry pictures of Erv riding on Essie’s back, but this is the only clear one I have from Friday. 500 miles, […]
I think this is so incredibly cool. Go you!
Thank you, Robin!!
You're inspiring me to start running again!! Awesome job!
YAY!! Thank you, Jenn!
Greta, you are an inspiration. What else needs to be said? That really encompasses all feelings.
I don't know what the motivation for this project was but it's a true testament of your commitment and determination. What is your current daily average? Without looking at a calendar I'm guessing roughly a mile and four fifths per day?
I'd love to talk to you about this further–so many questions!
Mad respect, Greta.
Thank you, Michael! You're welcome to ask me anything about it! And yes, approximately 1.87 miles per day. HA. Basically, I started out making myself run at least 10 miles a week, just so I could meet the goal. But, the more I ran, the further I could go each time, and the 10 miles turned into 12-15. But when I was training for my half marathon last month, I got up to, like, 20-25 a week. Now, I'm training for another half in January but the mileage is back down and I'll work back up again.
I love this summary, Greta. So many times what I associate with running is … the people, the music I listen to, the weather, etc. The memories are so sweet.
Exactly! This post made me think back to some of the places and times that I ran in the last ten months…there were a lot!
I am so happy for you! What an awesome accomplishment. You are an inspiration.
Thank you so much, Denise! I honestly couldn't have done it without everybody's support. It got me off the couch a lot of those days.
Congratulations!! I'm so so proud of you!!!
Awesome! You are amazing, and I am so proud of you!! 🙂
[…] may have mentioned that I met my 500 miles in 2013 running goal. And I alluded to the fact that I spent a lot of time on the treadmill in the last 10+ […]
[…] my second half in January, the Walt Disney World Half Marathon. I also set and reached a goal of 500 miles this year, so that was a pretty big deal for […]