For the past two years I purchased a Daruma doll at the beginning of the year. It is a modern Japanese tradition to use the dolls, symbols of good luck and encouragement, in the setting of goals for the new year. I made my running goal, filled in one of the eyes, and hoped to fill in the other one once my goal was reached.
For 2016 I purchased a red Daruma doll. I hoped to run a sub 30-minute 5K. I filled in the doll's second eye on April 9th.
For 2017 I purchased a black Daruma doll. I hoped to run a sub 2:30 half marathon. That goal was reached at the Swamp House Half Marathon on March 5th.
For 2018 I purchased a white Daruma doll. Today is January 1st and I haven't been able to come up with a running goal that I really like out of the ideas I've been floating around. I am both terrified and excited for the Dopey Challenge and have been so focused on that that I am not sure what I should focus on afterwards. So I'm settling on a grab-bag kind of goal -- trying for 2 PRs (Personal Records) for 2018. This is actually a gimme since I'm signed up for three new-to-me distance races in 2018 (guaranteed PRs!). I'll attempt my first marathon in a week (EEK), I'm registered for two 15K races, and one 8K. But I'll still try to beat at least two of these PRs:
| 5K ..... | 29:39 |
| 10K ..... | 1:03:29 |
| HALF MARATHON ..... | 2:24:07 |
| 2 MILER ..... | 19:18 |
| 4 MILER ..... | 41:33 |
| 16K ..... | 1:58:25 |
Due to pandemic-related race cancellations and postponements, 2020 has seen a rise in popularity of virtual races. Are you looking for your next virtual race?I found the following virtual races with both t-shirts and medals as swag. Many are at budget-friendly prices, especially...
My second marathon, the world's biggest marathon, is in the books! At first I was a bit bummed about my slow time but now I'm feeling proud to have finished and very grateful I did not hurt myself or aggravate my injury. I started the race with 53,120 others....
I ran my first marathon, at Disney World, on January 7, 2018. It was one of the four races in the Dopey Challenge. The marathon was the 25th running and it was the 5th year of Dopey. Anniversary years mean special medals, and the bling from this series...
Over the Christmas and New Year's holidays, Arthur and I took an 11-night Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Dawn. I did one 5K on the ship for a virtual race (Stress Buster), which I completed while the ship was at sea on Christmas Eve.
