She Runs by the Seashore

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Before wrapping up the entire year of 2016 running, I’m going to take a look at just the month of December, like I usually do each month. Although I didn’t blog a lot, it was a successful month of running for me.

1. I ran 138.88 miles. This is my highest-ever mileage month! I started tracking my mileage in 2011, but each year, my mileage has increased and I didn’t do long-long runs or run as much as I do now before then, so I’m confident it’s my highest-mileage ever in a month. Four long runs certainly helped (13.1, 16, 20, 18) but medium-length and shorter runs also contributed.
2. My mileage got me to my 1,200 mile goal this month. I actually made it over 1,200 miles, but I’ll go more into depth with my 2016 goals in my next post.
3. I ran every day. I continued my streak, which ends tomorrow. (Edited for when it will end because I was going to have to extend it if I did my long run Monday.) I’ll blog about that once I’m finished!
4. I did one race. That was the Rehoboth Seashore Half Marathon, which I was able to meet my goal for. I was also signed up to run the Ugly Sweater 5K in St. Michaels, but the weather had other plans for me. A few of us were still able to run in our ugly sweaters in Salisbury.
5. I became a race ambassador for the first time. Save $10 on the St. Michaels Running Festival Half Marathon with my code, SMARCJ. The price will increase again on Jan. 3, so register now if you’re interested!

6. 

   I ran in the shape of Rudolph with friends. The Rudolph Run with the Pemberton Running Club was, as usual, a blast!

7. I ran in scenic places. This included a cold 3-mile run at Gordon’s Pond in Rehoboth Beach on Dec. 15 and a 5-miler in beautiful weather on the Junction & Breakwater Trail today.
8. I tried some new things. I took my first spin class, I tried a barre recovery class (seemed similar to yoga) and also started taking yoga classes at a new-to-me place, Soul Yoga Studio. I haven’t kept up with the at-home ab workouts, but I have been working in other types of exercises like these.
9. My shin splints returned. Unfortunately, my somewhat-recurring shin splints made themselves painfully known on Tuesday. It was worse than it’s been in a long time, so I made a chiropractor visit on Friday and thankfully (knock on wood) I felt great today.Stay tuned for my 2016 wrap-up!

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