A fresh start for a new year

Welcome (back) to my blog! My name is Amber and I started this blog many years ago. It started as a way for me to track my running progress and occasionally share personal stories. After a while, I decided to delete everything and start over. I had every intention of blogging again, but life has become so hectic that I didn't dedicate the time to it. So, here I am again with another reboot. I'm hoping to post more on my training progress, personal thoughts, and race reviews.

For those who don't know me, I have been running off and on since 2004. My very first 5k was the Labor Day Road Race in 2004. I ran almost the whole race in a downpour thanks to remnants of Hurricane Frances. I swore those 3 miles were the most miserable thing I'd every done and I'd never do it again. I think I attempted one more 5k before calling it quits. Then, in 2008 I decided to start running again after joining a fitness group at work. My friend started running on the treadmill regularly, so I finally gave in and joined her. I found out that I loved it, and I've been running since.

Through the years, I've had two kids which added weight and took time away from my training. Now that I'm through having kids, I'm ready to focus on running and improve myself. Since 2008, I've run tons of 5ks, a 10k, 3 half marathons, and led a pace group for the Jeff Galloway Run/Walk/Run program. My new focus for this year is to get faster at my 5k time. For the past few years, I've been focusing on distance, but now I want to increase speed in short runs. My current pace is about 37 minutes for a 5k. My goal is < 34 minutes, and my ultimate, probably-never-going-to-happen goal is 30 minutes. So, here we go!