No One's Chasing Me: 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. :-)