I may not PR again in 2013...

... and that okay with me. But why?

And how am I oddly okay with that?

In case you are new to my blog, I haven't always been a runner. In fact, for most of my life I loathed running and tried to avoid it at all costs.

I finally gave it a go in January 2005 and long story short: got hooked, made it from running 1/2 a mile to completing my first marathon in September 2006 then got injured and stopped running until probably 2010.

In December 2010, I got a herniated disc and had back surgery in January 2012. I was sidelined from running (just after picking it back up) until June 2011.

And then...

... I was hooked.

I started signing up for as many races as I could and as my body healed and the weight came off. It seemed as if I PR'ed race after race.

It quickly became an addiction - the sweet taste of a shiny PR at the end of a race was all I could think about.

But, I was out on a training run for the upcoming Dopey Challenge in January 2014...

(For those that don't know that is running 4 races in 4 days for a total of 48.6 miles in Disneyworld)

... I thought about my training plan. How I am now incorporating five races (four half marathons and one full marathon) into the plan.

(Who the heck ever saw that coming - that I would use a half or full marathon race as a training run!)

I realized I may or may not run those races at full speed because they are going to be training runs.

Will I see how I feel on those days? Sure.

Can I change my mind and go hard at any point in time? Of course.

But, now my goal isn't to get a new shiny PR each race out. It is thinking about the long-term prize: completing the Dopey Challenge and proudly wearing the six race medals it brings around my neck.

I need to re-frame and instead of looking in the short term - taking each race on their own - I need to look at the long term - how will this race get me closer to my goal.

It's weird for me to say that.

But for the girl who once struggled to run 1/2 a mile ... this is an un-freakin-believable post to write! :)

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Have you had to re-frame your race goals to keep your eye on a long-term prize?