Watch this video on YouTube.

So this happened.

Commence Operation: Marathon Bridesmaid.

My life has been crazy these past few months. I even forgot to tell you about my 29th birthday. Or that this blog is 2 years old! GASP. Iknowright?

I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions per se. I prefer to make life goals. A goal is easier to accomplish, in my mind. A resolution seems so rigid. But a goal… a goal can change… morph… evolve.

Therefore, here are the 29 goals I would like to accomplish before I turn 30. Because I waited almost 2 months to write this up, I am giving myself an extension for most of these goals to December 31, 2012. I have divided them into categories.

Health/Fitness

• Continue to work out, eat better, get healthy.
• Run a marathon.
• Run a half marathon without walking.
• Run 100 miles in a month. (I have done 100 miles of activity in a single month, but never ran 100 miles in a month).
• Run/walk/bike/elliptical/etc 1000 miles in 2012.
• Run a race in at least 3 different states – any distance (I’m fairly certain this will happen, so I have an extended goal of 5 different states).
• Do a duathlon, triathlon or “extreme” race.
• Complete my work’s Get Well Incentive Program.  And get a HSA bonus for 2013!
• Go vegetarian or vegan at least once a week. Unfortunately, I can’t do much more than a couple of times a week. Remember? Last year I found out I can’t digest fiber very well. Stupid lazy stomach.

Personal/Professional Development

• Write more (Start that book. Blog more. Write letters to friends and family.)
• Take a class (or attend a conference).
• Network with education professionals (bonus if they specialize in social media, web communications and technology).

Creative

• Complete a 365 project. I have an iPhone app that should help remind me to take a photo every day. I will be sharing the photos via social media. You can also see them in this Flickr set.
• Document 2012 weekly using my Instax. I’m going to take at least one photo a week all year long and compile the Instax mini photos (think polaroid) into a scrapbook.
• Make pretty things. 

Financial

• Pay down debt (working on this, but I have a long way to go).
• Create a budget. And stick to it.
• Support local and/or small businesses. Buy local when possible. Support small businesses.

Others

• Family time. Continue to make an effort to spend time with family – even if it is by phone, text or skype.
• Help people. Whether it’s donating time, talents or money, help others. Doesn’t have to be charitable.
• Friends. Make time for those who truly matter. Reconnect.

Life/Personal

• Faith. Pray. Worship. Devotion.
• De-Clutter (this is going to be a big theme for me in 2012).
• Find and settle in to an amazing apartment.
• Get a tattoo (I made a pact with peeps to get one if I raised money for charity. I just have to get around to making the appointment!)
• Read. Catch up on RSS feeds. Read books. Read the paper. Read blogs. Avoid JSOnline comments.
• Travel. Bonus points if travel involves any of the following: Road trip, Besties, Running, Airplanes, Booze. Super duper bonus if travel involves a passport.
• Make time for me. I have been getting better at this over the past couple of years, but I still overcommit and say “yes” to things I’d rather not do. I need to learn to say no to others and yes to me.
• Laugh. It’s the best medicine.

Hey, remember me? It’s Amy. I haven’t been blogging. Or Tweeting. Or Facebooking. Or doing much of anything. Besides working and working out.

Let’s take a look back at 2011 (and we’ll throw in the ol’ 28 before 29 wrap up as well. Because clearly, I need to consolidate). Here are some highlights of 2011. Read ‘em and weep.

Extreme Races

2011 marked the second year in my quest to reclaim my life. And as such, I decided to be stupid and put my life in danger. I lost an hour of my life on a ski hill in 90 degree July heat Dancing With Dirt. I RAN THROUGH FIRE at the Warrior Dash. And I would do it all again. And I probably will.

RAGNARRRRRR

File this under “Other crazy running shit I did this year.” Ragnar was one of the craziest, most amazing experiences of my life. And I got to do it with my friends – and with my dad as a driver. It was BALLER. Epic. Etcetera and so forth.

Family Time

2011 was hard for me. My baby sister (and roommate) moved to Minnesota. I missed her something fierce. I still do. But I made the most of our time together this year, and have spent more time with my parents and brother as well. Of course, part of that is due to my living with my parents (just a few more months), but we are trying to have a family dinner/game night once a month. My family loves board games. It’s hard not to have Emily here, but I’m happy knowing she’s happy with her boyfriend. We spent the holidays with them and I look forward to many more special times with them and the rest of the family.

Running

While I didn’t accomplish my goal of running a marathon this year, I did run 3 half marathons, a handful of 5ks, a 10k and two relays. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. I PR’d at the St. Louis Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon and the Run Into the New Year 5k. I ran a half marathon in a friggin’ tutu (see above). I finished up the year with 633 miles (some walking and biking, but mostly running). I have some big goals for 2012. But more on that later.

Cheerleading

Once again, I was able to be an obnoxious amazing cheerleader for my friends. I’m pretty sure that if I could get paid to cheer for people at races, I would make a career switch. I had the most amazing time cheering for friends at races all year long. Half Marathons, Marathons, 50ks, 50 milers… I have some crazy friends and I look forward to much more cheering in the future. AND MORE MEGAPHONES.

Besties

I’ve been blessed with a great group of close friends. While we are all on different schedules, we try to get together as often as we can. We’ve had cookouts, game nights, fancy nights out, coffee dates, book clubs, slumber parties, races, road trips and quite honestly, more fun than people should be legally allowed to have. I could write a novel about these people (you know who you are)… I can honestly say I would be lost without these girls! #bestiesforever

Career Change

Three months ago, I started a new job. That’s right. I left the TV/News biz. I was ready for a change. I’ve worked in television news since 2003. I’ll be honest – it was wearing me down and I lost some of my passion for it. I also felt like I wasn’t going anywhere career-wise, so when a friend told me about an opportunity with Milwaukee Public Schools, I applied. Six months later, I was hired. (The process was exhausting!) I am now the Web Communications Specialist for MPS. It’s a new position for the district and I’m in charge of building, training and implementing new websites for the district’s 175 schools, along with managing the district’s social media presence along with numerous other “new” media tidbits. The new gig is hard work, but I’m loving the challenge. I feel like I’m right where I’m meant to be. Oh, and I HAVE MY VERY OWN OFFICE. WITH A DOOR. AND WINDOWS.

So, there’s that. A quick overview of 2011.

And let’s take a look at my 28 before 29… My latest recap was in October. You can read it here. Rather than rehash it all, I am going to condense it to the things I want to roll over into my 29 things to do before 30, rather than just the things I didn’t accomplish. My life has changed in the past year, and as such, my goals have changed. (29 before 30 list coming soon. Even though I turned 29 in November. Deal.)

• Continue to work out, eat better, get healthy.
• #2-3 are morphing into “Find and settle in to an amazing apartment.”
• Run a marathon.
• Get a tattoo (I made a pact with peeps to get one if I raised money for charity. I just have to get around to making the appointment!)
• Write a book (or at least start).
• Run 100 miles in a month. (While I accomplished 100 miles of activity in a month last year, this is still something I want to accomplish!)
• De-Clutter (this is going to be a big theme for me in 2012).
• Pay off debts (working on this, but I have a long ways to go).

I hope you had a great 2011. I’m looking forward to a fresh start in 2012.

So, two weeks ago I roadtripped it to the STL with some friends to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Louis Half Marathon. It was pretty epic.

First, the road trip. Annie, Nadia, Bob and I met up at the State Fair park ‘n’ ride and before we left, Annie had to pee. So we drove down to the Pettit. We got refused. HOW RUDE. The guy wouldn’t let Annie use the ATM, either.

Our trip was off to a great start.

We finally got to a gas station which had A CALIFORNIA RAISIN!

We got back on the road and played “Who can check in to more funny places on foursquare while we drive?” We all won. Here are some of the beauties from the weekend:

• World’s Tallest Gay Boy Eating Ice Cream
• Pawnee (HI LESLIE KNOPE!)
• Narnia
• Random Alley where Burt Decided to Piss
• In the middle of a bunch of corn fields
• Stevie’s sithly sin den
• I see the arch!
• World’s Largest Amoco Sign (it’s huge)
• Whore Alley
• Poopin’
• Streaking and Looting!
• The Ghetto

Once we got to St. Louis, we headed to the race expo. I’ll tell you one thing, the Rock ‘n’ Roll series knows how to do an expo. I bought things I needed and some things I didn’t (per usual). After I said adieu to Annie, her sister Beth, Nadia and Bob, I headed west to visit one of my bestest friends, Holly. And her mom. And her THREE adorable dogs. We went out for dinner and had a great time that night, and the next morning watching a horror film and playing stupid games on our iPads, whilst cuddling with the dogs. It was a great visit.

Then I met up with Patrick and Lindsey (my friends living in DC) who are from STL and were home for the race. We sat and talked for HOURS. It was so great to catch up with them, talk about geeky stuff, journalism (and me getting out of the biz). I’m so glad I got to see them the day before the race, because I never found them on race day! (Which reminds me, I missed Sam from Sacramento too!!!) BOO.

Fast forward to an evening with three Munkwitzes. Thats Munkwitz overload. But awesome. I spent the night with Annie, Beth, Kim and Beth’s hubby Adam. Adam made us a great pasta dinner… of course we had to carb load the night before the race!

The next morning, we woke up and got ready for the race. I had gotten everything ready the night before, so there wasn’t much to worry about. I nibbled on my Clif Mojo bar, drank some water and anxiously waited to leave for the race. I wasn’t very talkative, but I wasn’t nervous, which was a new one for me. I had a feeling things would go well for me during the race. I was excited to do the race with all my friends from across the country, even if I didn’t see them, I knew they were there.

We dropped off our bags at the gear check and headed to our corrals. I said goodbye to the Munkwitz girls and went to Corral 22 (second from the last, of course). It took about 30 minutes from when the race started to when I finally crossed the start line! That’s what happens when you have 21,000 runners!

It was such a beautiful morning, and pretty cool to run through downtown St. Louis. We passed Busch Stadium (where I stopped to get a picture of me flipping the Cards the Bird)…

Busch Stadium. And the bird, for good measure. Gotta support the brewers.

the arch…

And we're off!

… and a bunch of other cool buildings.

But now, on to the ACTUAL race recap.

The race started off really well for me. Except for stupid people who think that just because I’m fat, this was my first race. I can’t tell you how many times someone said, “Good for you! This your first?” I know they were being encouraging, but I took it as a dig. Yes, I’m fat. Yes, I’m slow. But I know what I’m doing.

In fact, about 10 minutes into the first mile, I realized I was going to have a split in the 12s. THE FUCKING 12s! I knew this would mean T-R-O-U-B-L-E for later in the race so I forced myself to slow down and walk a bit. After the first mile, I pretty much stuck to a run 5-6 minutes, walk 1 min interval ratio. Of course, I was flexible with the intervals due to the rolling hills and water stops… and maneuvering through groups of people. I was pretty proud of myself when, at about mile 5, I was encouraging a fellow racer (who WAS a race virgin)… telling him he had it and not to worry. He was asking about time limits and I told him that if he kept his pace going, he would be fine. Then he realized I was 5 corrals behind him and had caught up to him. I told him not to worry and that he was doing great… and I kept on trucking.

For the first time, I left the iPod and my Nathan handheld water bottle at home. I’ve recently become very annoyed by carrying water on long runs, and I knew there would be water every 1.5 miles, so I’d be fine. And as for the music, it was a Rock ‘n’ Roll race so there were bands along the course. I’ve also been avoiding the iPod during runs lately. I’ve been getting rid of everything except for my phone and shot blocks. And inhaler, of course.

Running without the iPod and water bottle was FREEING. It was also scary. I was alone with my thoughts. MY HEAD YOU GUYS. I had 3 hours of just me and my brain. I got a lot of thinking and soul searching done. It was a very, VERY personal experience for me. I don’t even know how to describe it. I dug deep into my soul, examined some priorities in life and even questioned if running was something I wanted to continue. At one point, I thought, “seriously, what the fuck am I doing?” Yes, I’d say I hit the wall alright. I worked through some things during this race. It was all very unexpected. Maybe that is why I haven’t written the race report for two weeks – I wanted to keep it all for me. And I’m not going into specifics for that very reason.

Woah. Back to the race.

I was rocking until the 8th mile (9th was even worse). It took 2 hours for the first 8 miles (incl. water stops and photo breaks), so I was PUMPED! I knew if I could keep things going, I was going to obliterate my PR.

And then, there were hills.

Well, they weren’t so much hills as they were inclines. Long, slow, drawn out inclines. My quads were on FIRE.

Things started hurting. I started getting snarky. Well, you know, more than usual. I took longer walk breaks (2-3 min). I wasn’t going to let a little pain keep me from beating my PR.

As I approached the finish line, (you could hear it before you saw it), I got excited. I was almost there. I turned the corner and sprinted the last quarter mile to the finish. I wanted to finish strong. And I did.

BAM.

PR by 9:08. Average pace: 15:27. The end.

Splits: 14:29, 14:49, 14:40, 15:46, 14:46, 14:38, 16:00, 16:56, 15:45, 15:57, 15:43, 16:04, 15:27, 13:40 (.25mi)

Do you walk? Do you run? Do you like to drink beer and eat food for a great cause? If you answered yes to any of these questions, Strides for Crohn’s is the event for you.

For just $25, you get to go for a fun run with some cool people, PLUS a t-shirt and a beer.

WHAT: 2(ish) fun run/walk, raffles, food, beer, etc
WHEN: Sunday, November 13. Packet pickup begins at 11 a.m., fun run to start around noon.
WHERE: Horny Goat Hideaway (2011 South 1st Street, Milwaukee, WI 53207)
HOW MUCH: $25 before 11:59 p.m. November 6th, $30 thereafter.

If you don’t feel like running or walking, you can still help the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Just head on down to the Horny Goat Hideaway from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. November 13th for some food, drinks and fun! A percentage of all drink and food sales will be donated to the CCFA.

Space is very limited for the run, so don’t delay! Register today!

Visit www.stridesforcrohns.com to register.

Do you see what that is just above “Jul ’11″? Oh yeah. That’s 100. 100-freaking-miles. One month. WOW. WOW. WOW.

I am still trying to grasp what I’ve accomplished (with your support and encouragement)! 100 miles!!! To think, just 11 days ago, I was at 48 miles for the month, and today I am celebrating my first ever 100 mile month.

2010 Amy thought that was a long ways off. 2011 Amy thinks her legs need a vaca.

As planned, I finished up my mileage during the Liver Life Walk yesterday morning with some friends. I was so excited and celebrated the milestone at Yo Mama‘s.

I’m working on a full writeup of the challenge – hope to post it this week. Thanks Tiffany for kicking my butt (errr legs).

One of my long-term fitness goals is to have a single month where I workout (run/walk/bike) 100 miles. This may be a small feat for some people I know who do that much in a week, but for me it’s a BFD.

Take a look at my previous 12 months of workouts on dailymile:

As you can see, I haven’t come close to 100 miles in the past year (the closest I have ever got was June of 2010, with 96 miles).

I know that if I got on my bike more I could probably hit the mileage, I just don’t bike as much as I did when I lived on the east side.

So this month, as I always do mid-month, I went to check my mileage. I saw 48, which is pretty good for me, based on the past 12 months.

I tweeted:

I figured it would be pretty difficult for me to accomplish 52 miles in 11 days. That’s like, 5 miles a day. And it’s like a billionty degrees out right now.

Then, I received the following from @tiffanyannweber:

See our following exchange:
Not one to turn down a challenge, I accepted Tiffany’s challenge to do 100 miles this month, not only to accomplish one of my personal goals, but to raise money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.

Want to play along? Post a comment below and pledge to kick Crohn’s and Colitis in the ostomy bag. Pledge 1 penny, dime, quarter or dollar per mile – and you only have to fulfill your pledge if I break 100 miles this month.

Follow the journey at Dailymile!

C’mon, what are you waiting for?