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My Running Diary: Challenging Yourself to Go Farther!

By Mandi Mellen

Posted on December 12, 2016

I started seriously tracking my runs in 2012, and ever since my running has flourished. I use MapMyRun.com to set weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. It’s been key to challenging myself to go farther!

Diary of a Running Chick: December 12th, 2016

In 2015 I ran a little over 1,500 miles for the year. I was proud, but definitely wanted to run even farther in 2016. To date, I have already surpassed what I ran last year. Woo woo! I wasn’t sure if I could actually run any farther than I did in 2015, because I knew I had run so much. I decided to challenge myself to do it anyways and it paid off!

Right at the beginning of this year I saw a challenge on MapMyRun.com called “You vs. The Year.” I loved the title and knew I had to take the challenge! It was all about challenging yourself. By signing up I challenged myself to run 1,000 km in 2016. I knew that I would run way more than 1,000 km in a year. I’d run over double that last year. But signing up got me focused on my bigger goal, to run farther than I thought possible.

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I was curious how long it would take me to run those 1,000 km and complete the challenge. So I set another personal challenge, to run it all before the halfway mark of the year. I knew I could do it, but there was a moment during those six months when I thought I might not. In late May I questioned my resolve. I hurt myself hiking and couldn’t run for a couple of days, and it was the first time I’d missed more than two days in a row of running all year! I was super bummed, but I buckled down.

Even though I missed those few days of running, I pushed myself the rest of the month. I was determined to hit my miles and reach my goal. The Sunday before Memorial Day I did it! My run that day pushed me over the 1,000 km mark and I made my goal prior to June. I was super excited! I did it and I had over half the year left to keep on going.

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I hit my mid-year goal spot on, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from continuing to challenge myself! My new goal was to at least double those 1,000 km by the end of the year, and pass by my mark from 2015 with ease. I’m proud to say that I successfully challenged myself and reached my goal in the final week of November. What an amazing feeling!

I wanted to run as much as I could this year, especially since I’m now pregnant. I know things will eventually change when my baby comes and there will be times when I might not be able to run. My goal for next year will be to minimize that as much as possible, because I want to run every day. I love running and I love challenging myself to defy expectations!

If running is one of your goals for 2017, I highly recommend finding what challenges you. What can you do to challenge yourself? If there is another “You vs. The Year” challenge, then definitely join in a heartbeat! Prioritize your runs and enjoy your miles. I’m going to run as much as I can before April, when my little bundle of joy arrives. So pace yourself and set out to defy your expectations!

Challenging yourself makes things happen when you hold yourself accountable! That is why I love using MapMyRun.com to track my runs. I get weekly and monthly emails with my stats. Never be upset at yourself, just go out there and do better next time! I love seeing when I’ve run over 30 miles in a week. It makes me want to continue to push myself and do that the following week!

Find what works for you and continue to challenge yourself through the last month of the year and into 2017! No matter what you have going on, or what walls you’re putting up, let them go and finish your year strong. Running over the holidays is always an accomplishment!

Mandi Mellen is Lead Editor, Staff Writer, and Featured Vlogger at BuzzChomp. She’s an actress, writer, and producer. Get lost in her youtube comedy channel PillowTalk TV. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or Instagram