Workouts: a lot, most recently 6.5 miles on the treadmill/ 61:29

So clearly I took a blogging break. Between holidays and finishing the semester, I was consumed. I’m back  and excited and wanted to share some 2012 highlights!

1. Starting Boot Camp

I know I talk about boot camp a lot on here, but I’m never too specific. I go to Camp Sweat Nola, which is an outdoor boot camp lead by the talented Jessica Windham. Now, paying somebody push you to do really strange exercises (jumping jacks with hand weights? One-legged squats?) may sound stupid, but it’s actually AWESOME.

I started in January and I can’t say enough about what it has done for me. I’ve lost more weight and toned up. I believe it has made a tremendous impact on my running time. In the beginning of the year I was training at about a 12:30 minute mile and now I am consistently running 9:30-10:00 minute miles. Even more so than that, it’s given me a lot of athletic confidence. I don’t think I would have pushed myself to try some adventure races like Muddy Buddy or Warrior Dash, or even try a triathlon like Rocket Chix, Yam City, and Girl Power without boot camp. I have drunk the sugar free kool aid and am now totally smitten.

Boot Camp attire. Check out the awesome Camp Sweat tank!

2. Two Half Marathons

This is the first year I have ever run two half marathons, and although I ran the Rock N Roll New Orleans half marathon before I started blogging, and was incredibly disappointed in my finish, I still finished it. And really, it made my Ole Man River 1:59 half all the more sweet.

3. TRIATHLONS

This was so new and so cool. I am not as big a fan of biking or swimming as individual sports, but put them together with running and it’s a challenge I can’t resist. I know, I’m weird.

Best Race Shirt EVER

4. Running With People

I blogged about this over the year, but it’s been fun to run with other people.

5. Mileage

This year I ran 1050 miles which was AWESOME. I also ran 100+ miles four months this year (September, October, November, December). I really feel like I am getting back to the level of shape I was in the first few years of college. I am not there yet, but 2013 looks promising!

6. Duh. Blogging.

This has been fun. Thank you for reading and keeping up with me!

What are some of your 2012 highlights????