2019 is almost done and 2020 has just gotten very interesting

I know, it's been a while but now I'm back. For real, for real, I'm back! So, what have I been up to?

1. In February, I went to Austin, TX to do the Austin Half Marathon with my good friend Sally.

Yes, that is my medal with a bowl of ice cream. I deserved it.

2. I did Chattanooga 70.3 in May for a second time with the swim being being cut short AGAIN!!!! 

3. At the end of September, I did the Chicago Half Marathon in the pouring rain. I actually did 17 miles of it as opposed to 13.1 as I was on coach duty and also running back and forth running my athletes in.

4. I did the Girls on the Run 5k to help out one of my athletes to be a running buddy to a young girl. Although it was my slowest 5k, it was so much fun except the girl I was paired with face planted towards the end. Don't worry, she got up and finished like a Champ!

5. In the early part of November, I flew down to Miami for the MiamiMan Multisport Festival. I competed in the Aquathlon (1000m swim and 5k run). It was literally a fly in/fly out race. The only goal I had was to get 18th place in my age group which would mean I would qualify for the ITU World Championships in Almere-Amsterdam in 2020. Guess what? I qualified! Yes, I am going to Amsterdam by any means necessary to race. I can't pass up this opportunity.

6. Last, but not least, the Turkey Trot 8k on Thanksgiving morning with my T2 #ganginred

So, as I prepare to swim 100 x 100 yards after I finish training clients (yes, 10,000 YARDS) on this NYE, 2020 is the year of Joy.

I am going to actually put myself first. I normally don't race a lot due to my commitment as a trainer and a coach. Not gonna happen in 2020. If all goes well, this is my race schedule for 2020:

March 28:         Rock n' Roll DC Marathon

April 26:           Challenge Cancun

May 23:            Soldier Field 10 Miler

June 27-28:       Rev3 Sprint and Half Iron

September 10:   ITU World Championships - Aquathlon

September 27:   Chicago Half Marathon

October 11:       Chicago Marathon (I am actually starting and may/may not finish - coach duties)

November 22:   Ironman Cozumel 

Whew! That's a lot but we'll see how it goes! Happy training and Happy New Year!

#afrocoach #milesandsmiles #swimmer #blackmermaid #blackgirlsswim #cyclist #runner #coach #athlete #marathoner #triathlete #multisportathlete #coffeelover 

Run streak: I made it to 100 days of running today

I'm back! Did you miss me? I'm really back now.

I never set out to do 100 days of running. My original intention was to run 30 days from June 1st to June 30th. I had just came off of training and finishing Chattanooga 70.3 and was looking for a new challenge. Marathon coaching/training was starting soon, so why not start on June 1st, a mere 9 days before the start of training. I have never ran 30 days in a row. PERIODT!!!!!! My rules were simple. If it was on the training plan, then either I did the mileage or time. If it was not on the training plan, then I had to run a minimum of 1 mile. Easy, right? Not necessarily. There were some days that my legs were like "f*** you" and other days where I felt strong. Days where my migraine tried to get the best of me and days where I question my sanity. Days where I found clarity and days where I just needed to run.

June 30th came and went. I logged 71.3 miles.

Hmmm, let's keep going until my birthday. Well, my birthday fell on a Wednesday (#temporunwednesday) and there was a track workout on Thursday.

Well, let's keep going to the end of the month. July gave me 104.8 miles.  Okay, let's just go into August up until day 75.

On  a side note: during the first 7 days of July,  I also did a swim streak. I ended up swimming over 33,000 yards in 7 days.

So, what had happened was? Day 75 came and went.

I was so far into no man's territory, I just started having the thought of:

1. Do I go to day 100 and so be it?

2. Do I go to day 135 (#chimarathon)?

3. Do I go to day 150?

That was going through my head. My August bank account gave me 146 miles. Oh boy! 

September shows up and now it's like I need to grab that carrot! It was the countdown to today. 100 days of running totaling, as of today: 351.7 miles or a Hell of a lot of my family members. 

So now, I'm continuing on until at least the Chicago Marathon (remember, I do not cross the finish line but I run a whole lot). 

But what I have learned in this journey, so far is that I can run every day and be okay. I can run a variety of paces, depending on duration. I prefer to run in the morning but sometimes my schedule dictates when I run. I have been able to inspire friends to try their own streak. So, here's to the next 35 days or more.