Part 1: We Did It! 2015 Miles in 2015

This week I will post a 3 part series of my 2015 Miles in 2015 Challenge. Here is part 1 from me, and then Parts 2 and 3 will come later this week. Parts 2 and 3 will be guest posts written by my 2015 Miles in 2015 teammates. 

Our 2015 Miles in 2015 Challenge Summary

We did it! We even SURPASSED our goal of hitting 2015 miles in 2015 and tallied over 2,161 miles! This was definitely a team effort. With my having a few months where I didn't reach my goals due to injury, Kate having a few difficult months with work and wedding planning, and Brandi being our rock of consistency- we all worked together as a team to make this goal happen. If only two of us had done this challenge we would not have made it. All 3 of us were very important to our success.

My last contribution on December 31st.

Even though I still don't have the all-clear to run or even walk (hopefully late this week!) I did go for a very slow cautious walk on December 31st. I just had to get a final few miles in in 2015. I am going stir crazy and as I watched my teammates get some serious miles in this month, I felt the need to put a few more in too. In December I reached 19.14 miles, but my goals was 50. I hate excuses but the last few months my shoulder has really put a damper on my running. Lots of pain... Since I ran those 2 half marathons in 2 days in October the pain level in my shoulder has been much worse. I only had about 2 weeks before surgery to run in December and only reached 19.14 miles during those two weeks. Kind of a let down, but that's life. I wish I could have ended this challenge with explosive drive and determination like I often had in earlier months, but it just didn't happen for me. I did surpass my personal goal of 680 miles, and reached 842, but in my heart I really wanted 1000 miles this year. Oh well... here's to 2016 I guess!

I think my favorite thing about this challenge was taking a different role than normal. As a runner I have focused on my goals and my training- not really on the goals or training of other people. I have never been a cheerleader for others and I really enjoyed this experience from that perspective. I enjoyed this so much that I hope to manage a team in 2016. If I do, I'm certain you will get updates on their progress throughout the year. I am still hammering out the details.

Kate reached a whopping 64.6 miles in December and Brandi reached 54.35 miles. Both of these awesome teammates will be posting guest blog posts later this week to offer a recap of what this experience was like for each of them this year. In talking with them they have both learned a lot about themselves on this journey of reaching 2015 miles and I can't wait for them to share their stories with you.

Look for their posts on Wednesday and Friday.