Friday Faves #10: 2016 Kickstart

Can you believe we're a full week into 2016? Crazy talk. I'm super excited that I've got tons of really awesome things coming up that get me PUMPED for this year. Big things happening, people! Some of them benefit you, too, so get excited! 

1. First race of the year tomorrow! 

Citrus Heritage Run Half Marathon

January 9

I ran this race in both 2014 and 2015 and want to keep my legacy status! It's a favorite local race with an amazing production. As of yesterday, I'm also now pacing the 2:00 group, so that's awesome because that'll be a course PR for me! They're supposed to announce today if they're keeping the planned/certified course or if they're going to alter it because of all the rain we've gotten this week (because so much of it runs through trails/orange groves, you could be a muddy hot mess by the end). I like mud, and I like oranges, so I sure hope they're able to keep it as planned! Fingers crossed. 

2. Bib Rave

I am way super excited to announce that I'm an ambassador for Bib Rave for this year! I put this out on Twitter after Thanksgiving, but now that I've got my swag, it's official. What is a Bib Rave ambassador and better yet, what's Bib Rave? Bib rave is a site for you to share all your race reviews and experiences - the good, the bad and the ugly. 

- We help support and promote BibRave.com and help spread the word about this running resource to the wider running community.

- Test, experiment, and review various running and fitness related products and describe my experience to my social media and blog networks. 

- Run races as a BibRave Pro, reporting back on all aspects of the race - before, during, and after the event. 

- Participate in #BibChat - a super fast-paced weekly Twitter chat about all things running and racing. 

- Support my BibRave Pro teammates in any way I can, especially through our BRP community Facebook page, on their blogs and social media channels, and in real life! 

3. Pro Compression 

And if that weren't enough, I'm also super stoked to say that I've been chosen to be part of the amaaaaaazing Pro Compression ambassador team for 2016! I don't represent brands that I don't know about or don't care for, but I've been running in PC socks for nearly three years and can't say enough about them. Not only are they a brand that I love, but a brand that works. 

And - yes, this is where you win - I've got some cash-saving things for you too! Use code PRO16 to save 40% off your Pro Compression order. This code's only good through February 28, so you better act QUICK and get your socks soon! While you're at it, sign up for the email list and get a chance to earn $100 towards more socks! And that way you don't miss out on the Sock of the Month announcement! 

A super fun way to get my 2016 started and I'm looking forward to more fun! Despite being back at work and back to the grind, this has been a pretty sweet way to start my year!

How was your first full week of the new year?

Run Megan Run: Spring Schedule

Well, with all this sudden talk of #marathontraining on my Insta, you're probably wondering what I'm up to. If you follow me on Twitter, none of this should be a surprise, but! There's lots of really awesome goodness coming my way this spring and I am way freaking excited.

Citrus Heritage Run Half Marathon

January 9

I ran this race in both 2014 and 2015 and want to keep my legacy status! It's a favorite local race with an amazing production. Run through orange groves? Yes please. I'm looking forward to seeing if I can continue bettering my time on this hilly, challenging course. 

Run for Russ 5K

February 6

Part of the Chino Triple Crown 5K series (race number two of three) and one with a worthy cause. This will be year three headed back here (2014 / 2015)!

Surf City Half Marathon

February 7

Register with code SCMJOHNSTON10 and save 10%!

This is the major goal race of the spring - yes, I'm overlapping marathon training (a phase not about speed for me, but endurance) with my goal half marathon time (where I am more about speed). My current PR is 1:50 and I am aiming to break that with a stellar day at Surf City. I know this course well and am ready to smash it. Jacky, my personal pacer for the day, thinks she'll pull me in for a 1:45. We'll see about that.

San Diego Mermaid Half Marathon

February 13

Register with code BEAST and save 10%!

First race of 2016 to be pacing with Beast (2:15) and I already can't wait. I love women's races and am excited to be a part of this pacing team! 

And the early spring doozy...

Phoenix Marathon

February 27

Spoiler: I have another full on May 1, but I am really trying to train hard and make my workouts count for Phoenix. Phoenix will either be a stellar, super race or it will be a great temperature check for how I'm doing for OC training and what I need to work in the two months following. Either way, I am excited and ready to rock and roll! 

During marathon recovery, I'll be pacing two more races:

San Diego St. Patrick's Day Half

March 12

Another easy run with Beast pacing team 2:15! Super fun, all-green races with beer gardens afterwards never hurt, either. 

Hot Chocolate 15K San Diego

March 20

Register with code BEASTBUFF and get a free buff with all your other race swag!

I haven't done a Hot Chocolate race since their inaugural year in Atlanta, so I am super excited to do another one finally - and in the last two years, they've added race medals in for all their 15K finishers on top of all the chocolate swag! Win. 

Excited for all the fun through March. Excited that it's a bit of racing, a bit of pacing, all while mixing it up and being better about my cross training, strength work and getting in some solid runs during marathon training. Boom.

Will I see you at any of these races? What's on your schedule for spring 2016?

2016: The Year of the Marathon

I accomplished every goal I set out for in 2015. Every. Single. One. Though some were not to the degree I had hoped for (namely, that marathon PR), I can still they were achieved and can do so with a pretty big smile on my face.

Running really took a big part of my life in 2015, partially from the tail-end of unemployment and it providing me some kind of sanity through that nonsense, and then even a little bit of relief as the new job started and trying to maintain a balance in my life with a pretty demanding job over the summer. July hit some mileage lows (like 30 all month), but showed me that when I am determined to do something (like 1,000 miles), I'll do what I can to achieve it and look past the harder times.

I put numbers and specific goals into a lot of things. I believe in setting SMART goals, mostly so I can keep myself in check and also set goals that are realistic and that I won't kill myself doing. 1,000 was a stretch, but I backed off for a bit and then had to make up for it later! Numbers are hard and sometimes they leave a lot to live up to and sometimes put on that extra stress. At the same time, they hold you accountable.

That being said, my goals for 2016 are a mix of numeric and non-numeric things - some things I keep track off like a mad-woman (mileage!) and race times do other work for me, but some other things are plans and ideas that I'd like to see put into action.

1. Run 1,100 miles. 
I know, I just said 1,000 was hard. But now I really know what it entails and how to hold myself to it. Between training plans and cycles this year, I've got big plans that should be nothing but supported by these miles anyway. Watch me do work! 100 mile months almost seems the norm now, so in theory this is not that hard to attain.

2. Marathon PR
I have a number in my head. A time on the clock that I would love to see happen by the end of the year, but I'm not ready to put it out there just yet. Last year in one marathon I ran a 6-minute PR in 100-degree heat and I've already got 3 fulls on the calendar for 2016. So long as I can maintain some effort, I think my goal is realistic. 4:52 will be demolished this year - demolished!

3. Complete a triathlon.
Alright, there. It's out there. I'm not specifying a distance, as I really just want to give myself an opportunity to try something different! Honestly, I think that I could roll out of bed tomorrow and complete a sprint tri - it might not be pretty, but I have the endurance to. However, I would like to actually train and feel that I successfully completed some (undetermined distance) tri!

4. Finish off my credit card debt.
Also attainable. Knocking off about 70% of it in 2015 was huge, and though my savings took a little hit, I want to knock it all out of the park so I can continue to build up my savings again. To be honest, I have about $3,000 left to finish off and I know it's more than do-able (and should take well less than a year). I know I have some big financial goals coming up in my personal world, so my hope is that should I achieve a 0% credit card debt status, I can handle other financial responsibilities that come up. Let's see what I can do.

5. Journal
Don't get me wrong, I love my blog and I love sharing my little corner of the world with you all! BUT there is nothing like grabbing a pen and paper (or my notebook) to actually get the rest of my head out on paper. My goal is to journal at least once per week and, to make a habit of it, commit one evening each week to writing.

6. Strength Train
When I was training for my first full way back when, I was actually really good about cross and strength training. For whatever reason, I cannot for the life of me get back into a mindset of doing it. It sucks. However, with those three fulls on the calendar, I know giving my body a break from pounding pavement is going to be crucial  to not only making myself stronger, but giving myself some true recovery time. My local Fleet Feet does yoga on Wednesdays and I've already scheduled Sundays for cross training and strength days. Every little bit counts, right?

7. Volunteer More
I always say I'm going to volunteer at more races, and I would like to actually put that into use this year. Volunteering at the Disneyland Half weekend this past year was awesome, but I want to be out road-side, passing out water or medals and giving folks all that they need on race day! My goal is to volunteer at at least six races by next December!

8. Speak Up
I back down from confrontation. I hate it more than anything. I'm not a good advocate for myself. In relationships, at work, and in life, I want to work on speaking up on my own behalf, whether I'm upset or frustrated, but also wanting folks to know when I'm happy and grateful and glad they're on my side. There's work to do here, for sure, but that goes into some other work on self-esteem! For now... we leave it as 'speak up.' Be your best advocate. It goes a long way!

There it is. 2016 has a lot of good things coming already, including an awesome race schedule that I am way excited about, but other life and fun adventures to come. I can't wait.

What are your goals for 2016?

2015 in Review: Goals

HappyNew Year, friends!

January 2, 2015, I declared my goals for the year. I was, at the time, about halfway through my unemployment stint and though I was enjoying some gigs substitute teaching here and there, I really had no idea what 2015 would have in store for me. I ran a lot to escape the monotony of job applications and interviews, ran to escape the feelings of failure and self-doubt, and I worked hard at everything else to make sure that I didn't fail in other arenas of my life. 

I put these goals out there, intentionally leaving them small and focused with the purpose of keeping them realistic and attainable. I narrowed it down to five key goals for the year, rather than a bunch of minute ones that wouldn't really matter to me anyway. 

How'd I do? Here goes! 

√ 1,000 miles: 757 in 2014, 554 in 2013, 664 in 2012. And 2015 brought my highest mileage ever at exactly 1,000. I did it! With exactly one day to spare, I ran 9.4 miles on December 30 to knock it all out in one shot because I didn't want to be finishing on the last day of the year. I upped it from just 757 in 2014 (which I thought was a lot at the time), and busted out my full 1,000. Heck freaking yes.

Ya think I was excited?

√ Marathon PR: I had originally said that although I was only registered for LA at the time, that I was eye-balling a fall full, too. Well clearly I never got that far and only ran LA this year, and despite not meeting my goals for the race, I still PRed. Six minutes is six minutes, and in 100-degree heat, that is absolutely nothing to scoff at. Besides, I've got some chances coming up in 2016! More to come. :)

Marathon #2 in the bag. PR on the books.

√  New states: My goal was to cross off at least two new half marathon states (a big goal was three, but again with job hunting, I didn't even know if two was realistic!). Lucky for me, I was able to achieve both of those, largely in part to two ambassador programs I was able to be a part of! Portland, Oregon gave me state #8 for my birthday weekend with Doug, and just a few days later, I was off to New York for state #9 and some continue birthday fun with my sister! Coast-to-coast weekends, all while achieving some goals. I'm a lucky girl.

Portland in October. Oregon, check!

√ A job: Like I said, I was struggling with starting the new year, still unemployed and still wondering when my chance would come. I wanted to continue my career in higher education, in a field that I loved, but I struggled after six months of interviews with no bites. In the back of my mind, I was wondering if I was supposed to stay in the field - maybe there was something else I was supposed to consider. Honestly, after a few months in substitute teaching, I pondered the idea of going back and working on my credential and going into teaching like I'd imagined when I first started college. However, March changed all that when I got the magic phone call and on April 1, my goal was achieved. 

I am in a job that I love, at an institution I am proud to be a part of, and am looking forward to saying I've been there for a year already! Time flies when you're having fun!

√  Reduce debt by 50%: That's a big percentage for anyone, let alone a girl who was unemployed for three full months of the year, on top of the five months at the end of the year prior. Come writing this goal last year, I had had my student loans paid off for a year, so I was just working on paying off credit card debts. I know that a new car is in my future, so working to get these nagging card numbers off my monthly budget will continue to make that easier. I am really excited to say that I've narrowed down my debts by nearly 70% and blew this goal out of the water. 

For once, I've achieved every goal I've set out to achieve. Again, I think keeping them smaller and thereby more realistic, I set myself up for success with them. But I did! PR in the bag, states checked off the list, a job I love... 2015 treated me pretty well. On to new goals, a new year, and new achievements! Happy New Year!

Did you achieve your goals for 2015? What are you most proud of?

Friday Favorites #9: 2015 Medal Faves

With 30 races completed in 2015, it's hard to come up with the idea of even having a favorite medal. One is impossible, even five is hard, so I rounded it up to thirteen (because odd numbers are better) and chose some of my favorite medals from the past year to share with you. Some of these are favorites solely for the medal (because who doesn't like a good-looking piece of hardware?) and some are the memories, races, and adventures tied to them! 

In no particular order, but you might guess my ultimate fave, I bring you my most favorite 13 medals of 2015. Race recaps linked below too! 

San Diego Holiday Half Marathon

This race has become one of my favorite ways to wrap up the year - San Diego, sunshine (even with 30 degree temps at the start) and a finish at the beach. I love this year's medal, as it encompasses everything about the race I love: San Diego, the holidays and glitter. Because duh. 

Ventura Half Marathon 

The race was alright (who doesn't get bummed when you run an extra .6ish miles?), but this medal is everything. The 5K version was slightly smaller, the marathon a larger pair of sunglasses. Love, love, love. 

Revel Canyon City Half Marathon

This medal makes the list for a few reasons. A) It's huge. It literally takes up the entire palm of my hand. B) Pacing Team 2:10 that day was a blast with Patty and Bear and I can't wait to pace with them again! C) It reminded me that running - and yes, even racing - can and should be fun. Who skips to the finish line? Looking at race photos from that morning show me what this is all about - achievement, yes, but community, laughs, and some personal fun, too!

Portland Half Marathon

Portland is obviously on the list and again for a few reasons. State #8 for me, so that's always fun, but because this medal is gorgeous. If you click on the photo to open it, you might also see that there are two runners in the center of the rose. Portland is an amazing race, so well done and so thoughtful. Roses and trees at the finish line and just a great event altogether. This was my birthday racecation weekend with Doug, so definitely worth throwing on this list! 

Beach Cities Challenge

The race recap above is for OC, since I claimed my BCC there, but run any of the Long Beach, Surf City, OC races in order and you can claim your medal at the third and final race. I'll be claiming another (a golden sand dollar) in 2016, but this one was just about getting it done! It was my first race challenge, though a long series, and I was excited to finally be able to pick up my bonus bling at the end!

Ragnar Del Sol 

Apparently I only got around to recapping part 1 of Ragnar Del Sol. Ragnar is one of my favorite, ridiculous running events ever and this was on a total and complete whim - hooray unemployment?! I joined the team for Del Sol (Phoenix) about a week in advance and had an absolute freaking blast with Tina, Erica, and Mandy and other new friends! There is no better way to get to know your friends better - and make new friends! - than 35 hours in a van or sleeping on a high school soccer field. No better. I hope I can achieve a Ragnar each year - so far, so good!

Citrus Heritage Half Marathon

Citrus is my most favorite local race, sponsored by the Riverside Road Runners, and one that is done so, so well. I'm a legacy for the half marathon (started in 2014) and hope to continue as long as possible! In 2014, I was under-trained and really just doing the race for that medal (just as pretty) but kicked my own butt and finished in a terrible 2:32. My goal for 2015 (after 2.5 pre-race miles) was just to run better, smarter, stronger, since I was in the middle of LA training. Mission accomplished with a 2:08. The orange in the center is covered in glitter and spins and is a pretty great way to greet you at the finish line!

Rock 'n Roll Brooklyn

State #9 and just a week after Portland, Brooklyn was the extended birthday race-cation. I got a few days to play in New York and visit my sister, all while running this inaugural race. I love Rock 'n Roll races and loved being a part of the #RocknBlog team this year! 

Tinkerbell Half Marathon

I apparently never got around to recapping Tink, but probably because it was such a weird race for me. Due to work on Saturday, I had to sprint down to the expo on Thursday evening and didn't get to participate in any of the fun social happenings going on all weekend, so I literally came to Disney to run and go home. After representing Sparkly Soul at so many Disney races prior, it was a little surreal. Regardles, I rocked a 2:12 finish after being on my feet literally all day Saturday, got to see tons of friends, and had a blast running through the parks. This pearlized beauty doesn't hurt either! First west coast Disney race in the books! More to come?

Golden Snowflake Challenge

This beauty is the bonus medal for running the Holiday 5K on Saturday and the Holiday Half on Sunday, As a part of their ambassador team, I was gven the opportunity to participate in both, and complete the sold-out challenge. I am beyond grateful. Despite a twingy back muscle, I rocked a 1:58 finish (way more than satisfied), got to run with so many IERC-ers, and had a freaking blast. This might be another new favorite holiday race in So Cal!

Lace Up Series (10K/Half Marathon)

I was an ambassador for Lace Up, so yes, I'm a little biased, but these medals are legit. Much like Revel, they're also the size of your palm, and don't change in size between the 5K, 10K or half! Ribbon colors chance the race distance/city, but the hardware is the same! I was fortunate enough to run 3 out of 4 events (if you ran all 4 you got a bonus medal too): the Irvine 10K, Palos Verdes 10K and ran/paced the Riverside half marathon! An amazing Southern California series I will definitely be back for! 

Rock 'n Roll San Diego Half Marathon

Probably the story of the year - the race where I ran in someone else's shoes. Read the recap. It's a good one, so for obvious reasons, this baby made the list. Solely for the story behind it!

LA Marathon 

As I was celebrating my 30th birthday this year, I thought it was only fitting that I run a marathon that is also celebrating ITS 30th birthday! Best yet, they made sure that their medals acknowledged the fact so that everyone knew you ran its 30th birthday. LA turns 30, Megan turns 30. Perfection. Though the race didn't turn out as I wanted, given race day temps, I still PRed this race and given it was my only full of the year... it's my standing PR. 4:52 will be destroyed in 2016. I feel it. But above all, this race stood for a lot and meant a lot and is absolutely gorgeous and I will officially declare it my favorite medal from 2015. 

I had an amazing year and can't believe all the adventures I got to go on! Two new states, another Ragnar adventure, and lots of fun miles inbetween! 2016 is going to have a lot to top... 

What's your favorite medal from 2015?

For this post, I'm linking up with Smitha and Dani for their #YearInReviewLinkUp!