2011 in Review

It's always interesting to take a look back on a calendar year to review and reflect a bit. I began this blog at the start of 2011. I'd already run my fist half marathon a few weeks before and was hooked big time by the running bug. My goals for 2011 were:

"I think I've figured it out.  Here are my carefully thought out plans, as of today.  (Subject to change on a whim of course.)

January
Yeti Chase 5K
February
Frozen Foot 5K
or
Snowman Stampede 5M
March 
Running of the Green 7K
May
Colfax Marathon Relay
June
Estes Park Half Marathon
October
Denver Rock and Roll Half Marathon

My one goal is to run the Denver Rock and Roll Half Marathon faster than I ran the 2010 Vegas Half.  Estes Park is on the list because it was originally the first half I registered for but failed to attend (for work related reasons).  It's at a higher altitude so will be quite the challenge.  The Colfax Marathon Relay will be a training run on the way to Estes.  I'm running it with my book club girls.  The other runs, and any others that turn up, will also be training runs."

So, how did I do? I ran all of the events I listed except for the Running of the Green. I did the Yeti 5K instead of the Snowman Stampede 5M. I did not meet my goal to run the R&R Denver faster than the R&R Las Vegas but, I did run the Estes Park half faster than both of those! Estes is my fastest half marathon so far. :-) In 2011 I participated in 12 events - seven 5Ks (walked 2 of them), two 10Ks, two half marathons, and one marathon relay. Wow! That's a lot! Go me! :-)

Here are my personal bests for the year (and to date):
5K - 00:32:36
10K - 01:10:28
Half - 02:45:22

I did fail in my attempt to train more consistently in order to run a better half marathon at the R&R Denver. I never did get into a regular training plan or regimen. I'll roll that goal into 2012. I did manage to keep a running log pretty consistently. That, combined with dailymile.com and mapmyrun.com helped me to see the bit of progress I'd made. So, with that, on to my goals for 2012...

#1 - Run R&R New Orleans (March 4th) in under 2:30.
#2 - Run 3 half marathons including at least 1 trail half.
#3 - Train consistently throughout the year to maintain conditioning for the half marathon distance.

Secondary goals are to continue running with the Arvada Running Club, participate in more trail running and races, and find a yoga class. All of those things will, I hope, make me faster. I also invested in a Garmin sports watch.

Last year I also ran quite a few races with my sister. I really hope we can do more of that too. That was lots of fun to watch her enjoy running. And so far, she is the only person who runs with me who also enjoys a celebratory beer afterward! :-)

So far, I am registered for 5 races next year:
Resolution Run 5K
Frosty's Frozen 10M
Snowman Stampede 10M
R&R New Orleans Half Marathon
NCAA 4Kay

Others I'm considering include the Greenland Trail 25K, Colfax Marathon Relay, Estes Park Half, Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half, the Bear Chase Half or 10K. But, for now I am focusing only on New Orleans and my goal to be faster and more focused. Well, trying anyway.

Here are some of the spoils I accumulated this year. :-)

Rock on!!

12 weeks --> R&R NOLA

Long run today ended up being 6.8 miles or so (according to my app.) We were aiming for 6 so were happy with the result. It was, again, a nice easy conversational pace. Sarah chatted almost the whole way, which made the run go by a bit faster and kept us distracted from the fact that we were running almost a mile over our goal. But, that was ok too. It's good to overachieve.

Next weekend is the Rudolph's Revenge 10K. It's on Saturday, so no long run on Sunday.

I did two days of boot camp this week. I'm not terribly impressed with it just yet. Or, maybe I'm just too tired. I passed on Friday's session because I wanted to run instead since I missed my Thursday maintenance run. But, I forgot my sports bra so did a short walk instead. I was bummed about that. I didn't realize it until I grabbed my bag to get ready for the short run. I did manage a 35 minute run on Tuesday though. Better than nothing miles I guess.

My plan for this week:
Monday - boot camp or rest (ARC party!)
Tuesday - 3 miles or 30 minutes
Wednesday - boot camp
Thursday - 3 miles or 30 minutes
Friday - boot camp
Saturday - 10K
Sunday - rest/walk (depends on if the Saints game is on TV)

I'm also investigating a yoga class in Olde Town....

12 weeks to go!!

13 weeks --> R&R NOLA

I knew I'd have to train through the Colorado winter in order to reach my goal in New Orleans. But, usually that does involve sunshine, even if it's cold. Sunshine makes the cold temperatures bearable. Today is was about 20 degrees and cloudy for the long run with the club. Brrrr!!!

We met at the Arvada reservoir (or Blunn reservoir) to preview part of the route for the Ralston Creek half marathon in February. I won't be running in that event because it's just two weeks before the New Orleans race. Maybe I'll volunteer instead since it's a race in the neighborhood.

On the plan was 6 miles. The loop around the reservoir however was a little over 5 miles. We decided to see how we felt at the end of it and back track a half mile if we felt the need to get all 6 miles in. I'd never run the res before and had always wanted to so it was nice to get it done today. The start of the run was very cold. My fingers were freezing and felt a little painful even though I was wearing gloves. Luckily my sleeves on my jacket were long enough to wrap around my hands. That helped. Running more also helped. My feet were cold as well but at the time I couldn't tell if my laces were too tight or if it was the cold. I changed my laces last night so I wasn't sure if they were properly laced. After a while my feet started feeling a lot better so I guess it really was the cold.

I think it took at least 2 miles for us to warm up. Once we hit the bike path, which was totally clear of snow and ice, we trudged on and got into a groove. There are really nice views on this trail and the snow on the foothills and table mountains made things quite beautiful. And then we hit the uphill. I've often wondered what it would be like to run this stretch. I can see it when I commute on highway 93 and it looks quite intimidating. I was pleased to find out I could handle it. :-) I ran (slowly but, still ran) the whole way. Yay! According to my app, it's over half a mile of climbing.

On the downhill portion, we just tried to turn on the cruise control and coast the rest of the way. We weren't entirely sure of the route once it put us back on the road. That was too bad because we were ready to be done at that point. I think the long stop at the aid station killed my momentum a bit. My legs definitely felt stiff and sore when we started up again after getting Gatorade. But, knowing we were almost done was good.

I liked this run because most of it was on the bike path trail and not on the road running against traffic. That's starting to make me a little nervous, especially now that there is snow and ice on the shoulder. I also liked that I still felt strong even after taking about 2 weeks off because of birthdays and holidays. My hip did start to hurt in the last mile. I'm not sure I would have been happy running the 6th mile so I'm glad we didn't.

Next Sunday we will do at least 6 miles. There are hills planned. And I really must figure out how to get some maintenance miles in during the week.

13 weeks to go!

Half & Half

So, it occurred to me, while I was reviewing my 2012 race options, that there are two races centered around Georgetown that I'd like to participate in.

The Slacker Half Marathon starts at the Loveland Ski Area and finishes in Georgetown. It is on June 23rd next year. The Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon, well, starts in Georgetown and ends in Idaho Springs. That one is August 11th next year. I think that's pretty cool. :-)