Monthly Archives: December 2012
Farewell 2012
The scene for my final run of 2012 -- snow-packed roads in Ohio.
In my somewhat year in review the other day, I think I missed expressing how great of a year of running it was.
Through all the ups and downs that come with running, this 365-day span has been the best in 9 full years of running.
It was the most consistent year I’ve ever had. I close off the year at 1,157 miles — 117 miles farther than last year. Five months had 80 or more miles and five months had 100+ miles. Longtime PRs fell in the 10k, 10-miler and half marathon despite rarely being happy with how “fast” I felt (or didn’t feel).
I spent today’s 4-mile run doing a lot of reflecting on this year. I thought about those PRs and the personal best mileage, but I found myself just being grateful for being able to run. In a way, that feels like the theme of this year.
I’m looking forward to what next year will bring. I’m approaching 2013 with a lot of goals that will set me up for what I think will be an even better and more satisfying year of running.
For now, it’s time to celebrate the end of 2012.
2012: The good, bad & ugly
I’ve run nearly 1,200 miles this year — far and away the most miles in a 12-month span for me. What’s behind those miles, though, are a bunch of stories — some (really) good moments, a fair share of (really) bad moments, and quite a few that were simply ugly.
I’ve thought about all those moments and decided to do a “year in review” of sorts with “winners” of each of those categories and linking to a few older posts along the way.
The Good.
Record mileage with no major injuries is almost the biggest highlight for me. Getting a 10k PR in May is also up there as one of the big moments. PRs aside, the entire race weekend at the Runner’s World Festival in October was huge.
Nothing, though, can top that feeling in March when I set a new mark at the Shamrock Half Marathon. While I didn’t get my sub-1:40, nearly everything fell into place that day for my best race experience to date.
The bad.
While 2012 was mostly good, the bad moments were definitely forgettable.
This comes down to a toss up between the Cleveland Half Marathon in May and the Richmond Marathon in November. Miserable weather impacted Cleveland; exhaustion likely caused a miserable day for Richmond.
Richmond, though, had more elements that I could have controlled, so that wins out as the biggest “bad” of the year.
The ugly.
Here was my debate — do I go literal or figurative? Richmond was ugly. The weather in Cleveland was ugly.
But blood is also ugly, and way back in January I had an awesome experience in the Frozen Toe 10k in Roanoke. That awesomeness included blood.
Blood always wins.
Ending a streak
After last year’s Runner’s World Holiday Streak, I was done with wanting to ever attempt streaking again. It just seemed unnecessary once it was all over.
Don’t take that as a knock to streaking though — those who do it safely have a great thing going.
While running every day for a set length of time isn’t something I’ll intentionally do for a while, I have had a streak going on for quite some time that I’ve never mentioned — running at least a mile a week from Monday-Sunday.
Even when I was injured at the end of 2010, I still got in at least a mile in that traditional week. I believe a couple of times at the end of the year, I still managed to take at least a week off (you know, like running on a Wednesday, then not running again for 8 days). It was an effective way to recover, but still keep that streak alive.
The last time I remember recording a 0 for a week was near the end of 2007 when I had some pretty major chest congestion. I wrote about the big zero only briefly and I’ve never talked about not running at all for a week since then.
That changes today as this 5-year streak of running at least 1 mile comes to an end. The flu wins.
There’s no way, though, that I’ll dwell on this or be sad or cry “woe is me.” I could have run a mile or 2 today, but I opted for a little more rest. I’d say I’m 85% recovered and I want to be at a point in my recovery that I know a run won’t set me back.
Sounds like a great Christmas gift to give to myself …
3 things Thursday
1. My wife and I have the flu. It came out of nowhere Monday night, but I guess that’s how the flu starts. Needless to say, it’ll make me even more unprepared for the Disney Marathon in a few weeks.
2. After reading so many wish-lists this year and posts with top gifts for runners, I opted not to make a list this year. While I’d love a new pair of shorts or another pair of Injinji socks, it’s not a big “need” right now. I’m grateful for gifts in the past couple of years that have left me well-stocked.
3. There’s an odd thing that happens with getting really sick … I feel ready to clean everything I own, throw out things I don’t use and use this as an opportunity to focus on nutrition. I just need another day or two of doing nothing though.
Image courtesy of renjith krishnan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
12 things: An ending
This post marks the end of 2 years of “things” posts — 11 things on the 11th of each month in 2011 and 12 things on (or about) the 12th of each month this year.
Instead of a “13 things” series next year, I’m going to set 13 goals and at the end of each month I will post a recap and report on my progress. Much more on that later.
For this final of “things” posts, I thought I’d end it like I started it in January 2011 with a “things you may not know about me approach.” After 23 other lists, though, I’m probably repeating myself.
1. My middle name is a family name that comes from someone who’s first name was Augustus. When I was younger, I always wanted to name my son Augustus, but it just didn’t seem right for a variety of reasons 4 years ago.
2. My two-year Dave Matthews Band drought ends this weekend with another show in Charlottesville, my 5th DMB concert there.
3. I love Richmond’s Tacky Light Tour.
4. As much as I’ve talked about Magic Hat, I also enjoy Maker’s Mark. I buy one bottle a year. Time’s running out for my annual bottle.
5. I’m really tired of hearing about the Mayans.
6. No, I don’t think you look good in that iPhone picture of yourself from the mirror.
7. The last full-length movie I saw in the theater was “Toy Story 3.” …
8. … but my son and I did see “Thomas & Friends Blue Mountain Mystery in the theater for a boys morning out.
9. I really, really, really want to play tennis a few times next spring or summer.
10. I listen to Counting Crows “August and Everything After” CD at least once a year.
11. My second car was a 1999 Chevy Malibu. There was always something wrong with it.
12. This little guy means much more to me than anything else with running ever will.
The Disney opportunity
Nov. 10 was supposed to be the last marathon for a while, but a few days before that a friend of mine asked if I would be interested in joining a Disney Marathon team through Comfort Zone Camp‘s Grief Relief Team.
My first thought was absolutely not. No more marathons for me. Then the marathon went down the way it did and I quickly realized that I’ve been taking running way too seriously for the past couple of years.
Running Disney would be the opportunity to do a race purely for fun. Then I thought about the opportunity of taking the family to Disney and then also supporting this great organization. It’s been way too long since I’ve run an event for a reason other than personal satisfaction.
Disney will not be an “A” race for me by any means, but I believe it will be a weekend to cherish for years to come.
Photos courtesy of Comfort Zone camp
I want to thank my friends at Comfort Zone Camp for reaching out to me to join the Grief Relief Team.
Headquartered in Richmond, Comfort Zone Camp is a nonprofit organization that helps transform the lives of children who have experienced the death of a parent or sibling.
Camps are held year-round throughout the country for kids age 7-17. I can’t wait to be a part of this special weekend.
In addition to their website, you can find Comfort Zone Camp on Facebook and Twitter. To donate to the Grief Relief Team, visit Comfort Zone Camp CEO Lloyd Osgood’s fundraising page.
Comfort Zone envisions a world where grieving children are not forgotten or left to grieve alone, and are supported by a wide community that understands and appreciates them.
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