Happy New Year! If you read my previous post, I did mention I intended to blog more. (Betcha didn’t think it would be so soon, amiright?) But I’m trying to start this year setting myself up for success.

Perhaps you’ve seen that YouTube video, where Admiral William McRaven is giving a speech about the most important thing to do in the morning is to make your bed. That one little action is enough to kick start the momentum needed to continue to make good decisions that build character and demonstrate success. Because those little feelings of accomplishment are an endorphin boost, and we want more.

So let’s start of the year with a nice sense of accomplishment!

Today my family and I started our fourth (?) round of Whole 30. If you haven’t checked it out, I would highly recommend you do. It’s not a diet, but it is super clean eating and I feel amazing when doing it. I’ll try and continue to post updates, so keep checking back here!

I also ran my first race of the year. The New Year’s Day Dash is a 5 mile run near Madison, WI. It’s a larger (relatively speaking) race, but the numbers were down due to the cold this year.

And, holy cow, was it cold. I think the temperature was a -10 degrees F, with a real feel of -27 or something. Someone told me it was the coldest New Year’s day in 45 years.

Despite being unbelievable frigid, the race went well! All you need to survive a sub-zero run is a lot of layers, really good gloves and socks, and a face mask. Maybe a personal heater. And some hand warmers. And a little bit of a crazy. And a ticket to Florida.

Anyway….

The first two miles were brutal. We were running against the wind and since no one was warmed up yet, it was painfully cold. I saw several runners turn back before the first mile mark. But once I got out of the wind, and my body had warmed up a bit, I actually got a little warm! (No really, it wasn’t just because I was starting to freeze to death.) My eyelashes still froze, but I wear that like a badge of honor.

There were some snowy parts which made it a little difficult to maneuver. Part of the race was on a bike track which, had it been summer, would have been a wonderful stretch of the race, but it wasn’t cleared. I kept weaving along  the path to find better points of traction. Someone behind me was using me to break the wind, and kept tucking in behind me every time I moved. Happy to help, sir!

Despite all the horrible, I mean, challenging, conditions, I managed to squeak out a PR. I hit 41:54, which to be honest I’m a little disappointed in, because I know I can do better, but I’m happy that even when the whether was blisteringly cold, I still managed a PR. My former PR for a 5 mile run was 43:45. That was almost three years ago in the spring. Glad to see I’ve improved my five mile time despite have a baby in between those two races.

I didn’t end the year very well. December was busy, I was really sick, and I didn’t run much. I’m excited to buckle down this January and start my year off how I want it.

How do you want your year to start?

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