Goofy Training Complete: 2012 A Year Of Running

 Sorry I have been missing, but Goofy training, holidays with my family and teaching my amazing first graders was all I could do these last few weeks. In 2010, my husband and I began our quest to run an event in each of the 50 states. The Goofy Challenge (a half marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday) has been on our bucket list since. In one short week we are about to attempt to conquer the Goofy! 

2012: A Year Of Running

State #6
VA Beach 14K
February 11, 2012

We went South to escape the PA winter. Yes, that is snow on the Palm trees. It was a very large, well run event. The course was flat and ended in a heated field house complete with band and food!

State #7
Long Beach Island, NJ  5K
April 14, 2012

Sprint for Life takes place on LBI a place where I spent many happy childhood vacations. It starts by the bay and runs along a nice flat course. The prizes are ceramic pieces made by local school children. Too bad I am too slow to win one.

State #8
Illinois 5K
August 9, 2012

The fun thing about this one was it was run in the early evening at a small, local fair.

States # 9 & 10
Minnesota to Wisconsin Half Marathon
August 11, 2012

Yes, I know we kind of cheated on this one, but we did run a half marathon and spent plenty of time in both states. I ran a PR this day with the help of my husband! This is an amazing run. A slightly hilly course that runs over the large bridge connecting the 2 states.

While in the Great Lakes Region we took some time to enjoy the sights. I hope to get back there again someday It is truly a beautiful place. Here are some pictures

The UP of Michigan ~ amazing I never would have believed a lake could look just like the ocean.

The highlight of our trip ~ a wildness canoe/camping trip through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota. This is a lifetime adventure if you ever get the chance grab it. It was physically demanding, but the scenery was worth all the hard work. We booked our trip through Clearwater Lake Lodge.

Another beautiful sight in the UP of Michigan ~ Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We had scheduled to view the coast by boat, but the water was too rough so we ended up driving and hiking. Still beautiful.

The highlight of the canoe trip ~ while looking for the next portage at a beaver dam, I walked up on this moose!!!!!!!!!

Twisted my poor husband's arm really hard and he took me to see "The Mall."

State #11
Michigan 5K and 10K
Saturday, August 18, 2012

Okay so maybe we cheated a bit with Wisconsin and Minnesota, but we made up for it in Michigan. In the morning we ran the Sleepy Bear Dunes 5 Miler. Then stayed to hike and enjoy the dunes for a while. After lunch we drove across the state and ran the Panda Bear Night Run 10K. Sleepy Bear Dunes is a great place to see and visit, but I had a rough run. The 10K went great at night and I had a PR! My husband won his age class!

Sleepy Bear Dunes 5 miler

Alma College, Michigan

Sleepy Bear Dunes

                             Santarelli Memorial 5K
                              Cross-Country Race

                                                        at Lorain County Community College Ohio

                                                                                       State #12

                                                                                     Alma, Ohio

                                                                          Sunday, August, 19, 2012

This was a difficult run for me, maybe too many runs in a row. It was also run on a cross country course and most, well really all, of my running is done on roads. Couldn't believe how flat it was there. In fact it was so flat that the college added a manmade hill to the course!

On the way home from this amazing trip we drove right past Punxsutawney, PA ~ home of the famous Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil!
So once again I twisted my poor husband's arm and he kindly obliged my craziness and took me to see the real live groundhog used on Groundhog Day.

This is where Phil lives, right in the window of the town's library.

Groundhog statues are all over town!

State #13
Delaware 10K
September 30, 2012

Our final state of 2012! A nice run, but close to my favorite Delaware Beach so we did the run and headed over for a beach visit and some Grotto Pizza.

We each ran a mud run just for fun in the middle of all this. If you haven't tried one go ahead and do it they are loads of fun!

My Tough Mudder Husband!

My sister-in-law Elaine made this one a ton of fun!

There you have it a great year of running ~ 671 miles for me and 895 miles for my husband ~ our most ever!
The Goofy in Florida will be state #14. I sure hope I am ready, the training just about did me in!