Highlights from my year 2014!

It is time to wrap up 2014!  I cannot believe this year is already over.  I have one goal for the year 2015 and that is to run a marathon!!  I need to take plenty of time to prepare and that will include getting back into strength training.  I plan on going back to the gym and using machines as soon as possible.  I will have to be at the top of my game to run for that far and for that long! I would like to run a couple more half marathons before it gets hot again, but my ultimate goal for 2015 is to run 26.2!

Here are some highlights of 2014!  I started the year on January 1, running my first 12k which is about 7.5 miles with one of my running friends, Katie.  

If I could go back and spank myself at this race, I would!  I was already injured and ran on a hurt knee from beginning to end.  I still finished in an hour and 20 minutes, but I should not have tried to run that far on a hurt knee.  My running pretty much went downhill from this point and my mitral valve prolapse symptoms started flaring up.  I had palpitations every day for a week after this race and chest pain.  I still tried running on my hurt knee, but eventually the pain became too much.  I went to an Orthopedic doctor at the end of January and he told me to take off from running for 3 weeks and to start walking at week 4, then run by week 5.  During this time I was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer on February 19.  That was the worst day of my life.  I thought that I could possible die from this and that was a scary place to be!  

This verse from Isaiah got me through my darkest days, especially while waiting to see a surgical oncologist.  I had surgery to remove inside the margins of where the melanoma was located on February 27 and found out March 11 that the melanoma had not spread!  I was going to be okay!  I am so thankful for praying family, friends, and a praying church that prayed over me during this difficult time.  I had been running and walking after my surgery and ran my first 5k of the year with my friend, Pam on March 15.

It was really hard and afterward, I felt like I had a hangover.  Running had become so hard for me!  Every run was a struggle.  I had a tough time running 11 minute miles and that was very frustrating for me.  My family and I went to Disney World for spring break the last week of March and I had almost decided to quit running.  

Thankfully, my sweet husband encouraged me to keep trying and told me not to quit.  We got home for our trip and I ran a local 5k the next day.  I had not run in 2 weeks and I placed first in my age group.  It was a really small race and everybody won something, but it gave me the confidence I needed to keep going.

As the weather continued to warm up, I ran a couple more 5k's in the spring.  We ran the color run as a family minus my sweet son.  My Addy finished her first 5k at the Color Me Rad on May 3.

I decided to train for my second half marathon which would be the Hotter than Hades Half Marathon on June 21.  I trained for this race for 2 months and getting those long training runs done was so hard in the heat.  We as runners can run in colder weather and not feel so tired, but running 10 or 11 miles in the heat will show you what you are really made of.  My husband and I traveled to Greenville, Mississippi on June 20.  He drove the half marathon route so I could see what to expect.  We ate the pasta dinner at St. Johns Episcopal Church and got up around 4 AM to make the 6:15 start time.  

The race went really smoothly for me and they had fun water stops at every mile.  It was hot from the beginning to the end.  I started pouring sweat only half a mile into the race and my husband met me at mile 6 to refill my water bottle.  Finishing this race was a huge accomplishment for me.  I felt like this was my comeback race!  I finished in 2 hours and 34 minutes and I was soooooo happy!  

My husband had Shipley donut holes waiting for me in the truck.  We even went fishing that afternoon. It was a wonderful trip!

Sometimes when you achieve great victory, that is when the devil starts to attack.  I had the worst panic/anxiety attack when we got home from the half on June 22.  It had been a long drive home with bad weather and the boat tire had a blow out.  I haven't really felt like myself since that happened.  I struggled to keep my emotions in check and we tried to go on one last vacation before school started back and my son got terribly sick.  We had to cut our trip to Destin Florida short so I didn't quite feel ready for the school year to begin.  All 3 kids were starting school at 3 different schools this year.  It has been a little overwhelming, but we are making it!
My husband and I bought bikes in July and we trained for our very first team duathlon!  Our time was 70 minutes and we placed 13th out of 23 teams!  

Christopher rode the 10 mile bike ride and I ran the 5k portion of the race in a little over 28 minutes!  I was so proud of him and for our ability to work together as a team!  I started a running streak on my birthday, August 12 and set a goal for a 5k PR.  I needed to beat 27:26 and almost had it at the Run Like a Diva 5k in Peachtree City, Georgia on September 6.

I finished in 27:43 in 72 degree heat and humidity.  I was so proud at how far I had come since March when I was running a 31 minute 5k.  I had one more chance for a 5k PR at the Dancing Martin 5k in Leakesville which is right up the road from us and where my daughters go to school.  I finished in 26:18, but the route only measured 3.01 miles.  

This is me and my pastor Bro. Cregg and we both placed in our age groups.  He was right behind me the whole race!  So I still say my 27:26 time from September 2013 still stands as my 5k PR.

I ran the Pink Pumpkin 5k for Breast Cancer awareness with my youngest daughter, Addy and she finished in 43 minutes smoking her previous color run time of 45:59.

Team Shepherd ran another 5k on November 1 in Leakesville and my oldest daughter finished in 39:50 and my husband and baby girl Addy finished in 41:01!  That was a fun morning for us!
In the meantime, I had been training for my 3rd half marathon, the Pensacola Half Marathon which was November 9.  I had asked my brother, Jamie if he would like to run it with me and he said yes!  I booked our hotel room and headed down to Florida the night before the race.  Had dinner with two of my running friends and their families and Jamie didn't get to the room until 3 AM!  We got up at 5 to head down to the starting line at 6 AM and we started the race at 6:30.  My brother and I started strong and we ran together almost 3 miles when Jamie had to make a "pit stop."  I showed him where the porta potty was and I ran up a hill and waited for him to come out.  Well, I never saw him come out!  I waited and waited then started to think maybe he had by me.  I ran and walked for about 2 miles not really knowing what to do!  I was so worried about him, but by mile 6, I was running a steady pace.  I didn't have any music so I was thankful for all of the bands, crowd support, and even Elvis.  I even got "power" from a little girl dressed up as Elsa from Frozen.  Before I knew it, I was finished with the race.  I saw the clock time was at 2 hours and 48 minutes and I was kind of in shock!  

My watch said 2 hours and 40 minutes!  I tried to smile for the finish line cameras, got my medal and made a U turn to go wait for my brother.  I thought he was behind me!  I got some water and plopped down in the grass to watch the other runners finish when my phone started ringing.  It was Pam, my sole sister, asking me where I was and that Jamie was by the Subway tent!  I was so excited and relieved.  He had finished in 2 hours and 37 minutes.  My official time was 2 hours 46 minutes and I did not care.  I was so happy to see him and he was happy too!  We took our picture with our medals and started walking back to the room, chatting the whole way.  I loved seeing him feel proud of himself with his accomplishment!  He had only done a couple of 5 mile runs before running his very first half marathon!  I will always look back at this race with wonderful memories and a very happy ending!

 My last race of the year was the St. Jude Half Marathon in Memphis on December 6.  We had formed a team and registered for this race in May.  There were 5 of us on the team, myself, Katy Roberts, Lauren Kropf, Tina Fritz, and Pam Pitts.  We were running in honor of Jaxon Schoenberger, a 6 year old little boy from Ocean Springs, Mississippi who had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in March.  The tumor, sadly, metastasized to his spine and Jaxon passed away on October 31 right before his 7th birthday.  I had met his parents at a wedding several years ago and got to meet Jaxon at our first fundraiser at Newks in June.  I will never forget him and actually got up this morning thinking about him.  My girls and I had our own fundraiser at our family restaurant, Rocky Creek Catfish Cottage, where we raised $545 in donations and the restaurant donated $1000 to St. Jude Children's Hospital.  All together our team raised $11,485 for the hospital. I will never forget this special race.  My husband was kind enough to bring me to Memphis and even though this was the hardest race for me physically and mentally, I ran my best half marathon time for the year at 2:27:06.

It's been a great year and I am now training for the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon coming up January 10!  I just ran my 10 mile long run on Friday and this week is taper week.  I plan on running and walking this race since I had a hard time recovering from St. Jude.  I have had a wonderful Christmas holiday with my family and looking forward to slowing down a bit this week.  Thank you for reading and happy new year to you all!!