Happy 6-month Runniversary to me!

January 1st marks not only the start of a new year, but also the 6 month anniversary of when I became a runner. I don't know the official date that I decided I really wanted to get into running, but July 1st was the date I signed up for the Color Run, which set in motion a string of new desires and goals culminating in the decision to train for a half marathon.

I am posting this a little early because I know that anything posted around January 1 would inevitably be lost in all of the hullabaloo of New Year's. Plus, I was just so excited to post it :-)

So, what's happened in the 6 months since I decided to become a runner?

1. Ran three 5ks since October, and saw my time increase from 29:38 to 27:22*
2. Went from being able to run less than a mile to being able to run 7 miles
3. Set my sights on a half-marathon by Spring of 2014 and a full marathon by Fall 2014

 *my last race of the year is on December 31, and this the goal time I am trying to achieve! It is exactly one minute better than my most recent time of 28:22.

I never imagined in June of this year that all of this would happen by the end of the year!



Of course, there is more to reflection than just the peaks and triumphs. Here's what I didn't do so well at and will need to work on in the next 6 months:

1. I am really disappointed in the lack of consistency in my training.
   It's something I have been able to get away with since my only races thus far have been 5ks and my half-marathon is so far away. But even with these smaller races, which all went very well, I can't help wonder how much better I could have done if I had stuck to my training schedule a little better. There were many skipped days, and a couple weeks where I skipped running altogether (bad Hanna, bad!). I try not to be too hard on myself, because I'm a new runner and I'm still learning, and it takes some time to adjust to a big lifestyle change. But with big things looming on the horizon, this lack of consistency is not acceptable anymore. In 6 months I would like to be able to look back and see that I quickly got my act together, started training more consistently, and only skipped training when I absolutely needed to. My New Year's Running Resolution is to switch to morning running, so hopefully this will be a tremendous help since little will interfere in the mornings.

With all that said, I think the best is yet to come! Here's what I what I hope to be able to say on my one year runniversary (knock on wood!):

1. Completed two 10K's, and increased my time on the second one  
2. Completed a 15K
3. Successfully completed my first half marathon on May 3, 2014!
4. ...and then, for fun, completed another one on June 14, 2014
5. Went from being able to run 7 miles to being able to run 13.1 miles
6. Successfully made the switch from evening runner to morning runner
7. Stuck to a training schedule that has me running at least 4 times a week

Here's to a great year of running through 2014. Runner friends, do you know what your "runniversary" is? :-)