How does it feel to say I’ve run my first half marathon? Pretty darn awesome.  I’m not that sore, I’m feeling strong and I hit my goal time of 2:30.  I’m also coming up on week 4 of my first gym bootcamp ever with Kaia F.I.T.- I’m hitting the gym at 7am 4 days a week, running twice a week.

I’ve been eating better (except, ahem, for last week at Disneyland that involved my share of hot cheetos and ice cream.) and have a green smoothie every morning, salad for lunch and I try to satisfy my sweet tooth with dark chocolate.

I have some updates to my running schedule for 2013:

Sandy Hook Memorial Fundraiser Virtual Run- January 2013

Mermaid 10k in Mission Bay, California – February 2013

Dirty Girl Mud Run in San Diego, California – February 2013

Coronado Valentine’s 1ok in San Diego, California – February 2013

Princess Half Marathon in Disney World, Florida – February 2013

Finish Chelsea’s Run in San Diego, California – March 2013

Hot Chocolate 5k in San Diego, California – March 2013

Nike Women’s Half Marathon in Washington, D.C. – April 2013

Chicago Spring Half Marathon in Chicago, IL – May 2013

Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon in Chicago, Illinois – July 2013

Disneyland Half Marathon in Disneyland, California – August 2013  <— YUP!  

Of course, while it’s only been 48 hours since I crossed the finish line of my first half marathon, I’m happy, and a little bit nervous in the tummy, to say I’ve signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon in August. See, here’s the amazing thing about running your first half marathon with runDisney- it’s contagious.

Today, my cousin and her husband signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon.  They were watching from the sidelines and seeing them (and their adorable 5 year old daughter) cheering for me was even better than the feeling of the medal being placed around my neck.

There is no way I can take credit for their half marathon sign up, but I do know that watching or running in a runDisney half marathon totally changes your perception of what’s possible.  As Walt famously said “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible,” and for many people, at one point in the journey- running a half marathon felt impossible. When you share that special moment, that 2.5 hours with so many other people, it is all worth it.

Moving back to Chicago, looking for “THE job,” and other shennanigans:

I have set my moving date for Chicago, the last week in March. I’ve had some good leads on the job search, but am still looking to snag a full time job, or additional freelance work as a social media and/or account manager in the Chicago area.  I love marketing, I love working with influencers and my goal is to work with a brand that’s eager and excited to utilize the online social world to amplify their goals… holding the megaphone for a brand I believe in would be a dream job for me. Plus, since I’m running so much (8 half marathons) it’d be nice to also have health insurance- I’m just sayin’.

You know- it’s funny, I thought I would find my dream job before I snagged the man of my dreams- but apparently life had other plans.  I’m moving back to Chicago to reunite with the man who stole my heart, I know if I was lucky enough to find him, I’ll find a job that’s right for me.  I can’t rest on my laurels, and while it makes me a bit nervous to sign up for mega races like the Disneyland Half Marathon before I know what kind of job I’ll have and what days off I’m able to take- I have faith it will all fall into place.

It’s funny to think that I signed up for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon in July of last year- I had no idea if I could run that far, and I sure as heck didn’t know how I’d come up with the money to pay for the trip and the $500 fundraising goal, being a recent grad and all.  I took a leap, the safety net appeared.  The fundraising goal was met two months ahead of schedule and I picked up extra freelance work, learned some money saving tricks, experienced a few miracles too, and it all fell into place like it was meant to be!

Etc. Etc.

I’m also going to be writing an article for Team Refuel- I had a blast doing my Team Refuel pictures with my fabulous cousin at Disney’s California Adventure and cannot wait to tell my Refuel story for a chance to win a trip to run a Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Seriously..I would *die* if I was chosen to run in April. Fingers crossed!

I’m also competing for a slice of a $12,000 Fitfluential DietBet pie… which is ironic, since in order to win I need to lose 4% of my body fat which of course means, ahem, NO PIE FOR ME.  When I first signed up, the pot was around $1,075 but so many people have entered the bet, it’s up to $12k.  Momma needs a new pair of shoes! No really, my Mizunos are due to be retired and they ain’t cheap!

Signed up for the Disneyland Half, am still on the job hunt, kicking butt on my fitness goals.  

2013, prepare to be p’wned.