Thursday, January 3, 2013

2012 in Review


2012 was a banner year for me.  I ran a total of 2,132 miles shattering my previous record.  Here is the year in review:

January – Ragnar Relay Florida Keys.  Just about the most fun I’ve had as an adult (at least while standing up) made even better by a third place finish for team Shanghaied and a bronze baton.

February – Two consecutive record months over 180 miles kicked off my best and most consistent year of training.

March – Highest mileage month ever at 243 miles.

April – Croom Fools Run – My second ultra and first 50 mile event.

May – I went streaking, running 38 consecutive days ending on May 17.  I averaged 5.5 miles per day with a minimum of 3 miles each day.  

June – I finally broke through the 7:00 mile barrier setting a 6:35 PR at WVR’s first one mile time trial workout.

July – Barefoot running.  A few months of gradual buildup culminated in my longest barefoot run to date - six miles.

August – I finally broke through the 23:00 barrier in the 5k at the Go for the Gold 5k setting a new PR of 22:32.

September – Got out of my comfort zone while training hard for a beautiful but hilly course at the Georgia Jewel.  50 miles and 9000 feet of elevation gain.  I also set another one mile PR at the Genuine Mile – 6:29.

October -  Ran my first 10k with a respectable time of 49:22 (after having run a 22 mile training run the day before) at the Pink Feet 10k.

November – Not every significant milestone is positive.  Plagued with ankle problems leading up to the Wild Sebastian 100, I decided to toe the start line anyway.  Hoping to complete 75 miles I had to drop at mile 45 (after hobbling through 10 painful miles).  Although given credit for finishing just one 25 mile loop around the course, in my heart I consider this to be my first DNF.

December – Confirming that my decision to drop from Wild Sebastian was the correct one (although that gives me little solace) my ankle healed after a few weeks of rest and I finished the year strong with a new marathon PR at the Jacksonville Bank Marathon – 4:21:39.