Leap Day.

Today is February 29th...Leap Day. An extra day this year! My email inbox was cluttered with all sorts of promotional sales and such today, but one in particular caught my attention. It was from my beloved Nike+ site. It was a challenge to all of it's runners/bikers/etc to make the most of today and try to get in as many extra miles that we could during the extra day this year. My training schedule called for 3 miles today...but I thought if I got right home from work and headed out I could maybe get in 5 for the sake of the cause before my Mommy duties called. As soon as I stepped outside I realized that the gusting wind was probably not going to make for a very easy run and resorted back to the original 3 mile agenda. I fought to keep my van on the road all the way home from work...this wind was wicked! When I pulled into the driveway I saw that several patches of shingles had actually blown off of our roof. We must live in a invisible wind tunnel for all of the straight line winds we get and the damage we have had (this will be the 3rd time to get shingles replaced). A quick check of my weather app showed that the wind speeds were 35-40 mph in my location...bummer! It is going to be a treadmill night afterall, but it will still be 3 miles for my leap day contribution.

Up and Running.

Welcome to my new blog! As simply stated this is a blog about my running hobby...recapping my everyday runs as well as road races along the way. I thought for quite awhile about what to name this little running diary of mine. Some contenders were 'Small Town Runner' or 'Rural Runner' given my local terrain of side streets and country roads in my small midwestern town with a population of only 2500. But...I go to cities to run some of my favorite races so that feel didn't seem completely right. I also considered 'Road Runner', 'Road Warrior', or 'Running Warrior' due to my pavement pounding ways and the wears that this hard surface impact has on my body. But, I thought those had more of a negative feel to this hobby that I've grown to love, so those didn't feel quite right to me either. I decided to just call it what it is -- frequent posts about my running. A log of specifics like routes, weather, struggles, achievements, and follies. I also contemplated using the title 'Mile Files' which I thought had a nice rhyming ring to it, but ultimately I went with 'Running Recaps' since the running is what it's all about. Plus it's simple and states exactly what I'm going to be discussing in this space.

I am definitely into the stats, schedules, and documenting part of running...it's certainly part of the appeal for me and my list making personality. I actually wish I would have started this blog back in 2010 when my feet first hit the pavement in almost a decade as the Couch 2 5K app played on my iPhone. Lots of miles and obstacles have been overcome in these past 1 1/2 years since then! I can only imagine what lies ahead for me in running and so my diary begins today. I don't want to miss archiving anymore of this crazy journey I'm on.

However, I'm not going to fool myself with promises of daily posts and recaps. My life as a Mom, Wife, full time Clinical Pharmacist, and avid supporter of my daughter's sports, dancing, and school activities simply will not allow it. But, just like I have made some space and time for myself to run in, I also hope to carve out slices of time here and there to get out my thoughts and stats about running on here. Plus, check out the sidebar...I'm keeping a tally of all my races and PRs and upcoming events to train for. That's a whole lot of motivation for me sitting over there on the right hand side. It really feels good to have this blog Up and Running!