This year was a big running year, full of challenges and rewards!
I am linking up with my awesome running gal pals to share my yearly wrap this week!
Share your adventures and join in with Holly @ hohoruns and Tricia@ MissSippiPiddlin
At some point this year, I think I experienced every emotion under the sun.
Powerful. Exhausted. Elated. Discouraged. Gratified. Apprehensive. Fulfilled. The list goes on and on...
I am linking up with my awesome running gal pals to share my yearly wrap this week!
At some point this year, I think I experienced every emotion under the sun.
Powerful. Exhausted. Elated. Discouraged. Gratified. Apprehensive. Fulfilled. The list goes on and on...
January started off with my First Day 5K PR .
I had been struggling with my left foot for a few months, but I nailed a great 5K to start the New Year.
A few days later my foot swelled up like a balloon and stayed
that way for the next month, but at least I got my PR before things went south!
I cycled a lot of miles and tried to test my foot the last
week of March.
I probably could have used April off also, but I had some
races I was already signed up for and I didn’t want to miss them! I wanted to get back to running so badly...
I actually did very little running in April other my races.
I actually did very little running in April other my races.
I enjoyed my 10 mile trail race and a half marathon even though I had been off my feet through March; the
cycling kept me in good enough shape to have fun with both events.
May rolled around and I was still only able to run a few
miles here and there, but I did go run another half, a very hilly half in the Smoky Mountains, and I
met Holly!
My hilliest half ever….at 864 feet of elevation. Whew, it wore me out!
My hilliest half ever….at 864 feet of elevation. Whew, it wore me out!
June and July I started trying to increase my runs to see
how my foot would react. I had a marathon mission and I worked up a base building plan and chipped away at the miles. Every moment wasn't smooth, but I never gave up!
Thank you Wendy xo |
Thank you Holly xo
I was fortunate to have motivational reminders from blogger friends to get me through summer training, which almost had me near tears more than once. I am proud I hung in there and did it, but I doubt I will ever train through summer again!
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July I also met another famous blogger for a fun chat/hiking session – Megan ❤
August, I turned 50! August was all about training and survival in the heat. Really June-October was all about surviving the heat and training!
September I ran an extremely hot humid half marathon as part of
marathon training. It was brutal. I didn’t die so I called it a win!
October I ran another half as part of marathon training and
nailed it! My race plan went perfect and it really increased my confidence
about having a great marathon. October was big - my first time running 18 and 20 mile long runs! I felt like a rock star.
It was my last speed work session of training that got me.
My legs never felt quite the same after that workout. I
spent two weeks tapering, but never really felt recovered by marathon day.
November I ran my first marathon and even though my legs
felt very heavy the whole time, I pushed on and got it done. I felt very proud to
finally accomplish my marathon mission.
I spent the rest of November trying to recover my legs and I
wondered if I had tweaked my stress fracture spot more than once.
December started with an epic girls weekend and the PanamaBeach City half marathon which went really well considering how much running I
lacked after November 12th.
I also did my Tacky Light fun run which turned out pretty speedy thanks to the motivation of being in a crowd with faster runners. I decided to take some time off and let my legs rest after that event. I've been feeling a bit achy and I really want fresh legs for 2017. December will be a very light mileage month for me.
In case you didn't notice I got very attached to my blue Old Navy shorts, I wore them like a uniform all year :)
When I started putting this post together, I felt like 2016 had been a tough year because I had to take so
much time off running, but I really got a lot done in spite of my months off. I feel proud I ran my first marathon at the spry old age of 50 😉 and this year was such a blessing as far as meeting my blogger friends!
It also felt like every time I turned around I was running a race without much training, but really it was about half and half. Each race holds some really fond memories for different reasons.
It also felt like every time I turned around I was running a race without much training, but really it was about half and half. Each race holds some really fond memories for different reasons.
My running mileage will be in the low 800's for the year, so I fell a bit short of my 1,000 mile goal, but honestly I am so happy with what I accomplished it doesn't bother me. In fact, I am not setting any mileage goals for 2017, my one desire for the new year is to just keep adding more running adventures.
How do you feel about 2016 when you reflect on it? Any goals you checked off?