At the beginning of 2011, I decided to start keeping a log of my running miles. I thought it would be fun to show where the 1,050 miles took me over the last year from running at 9,000 feet to running a marathon. It was quite a second year in running. My pace increased almost by a whole minute on average compared with 
2010 during my daily runs. In 2010, I could not seem to break a 10 minute/mile pace on my own. It was only during races where I would break that barrier. This year, that 10 minute/mile pace was only on bad days. What a great feeling to see that improvement. The year had its ups and downs with great runs and terrible runs. Runs that I would have to tell myself were not how I would end up. Sometimes my body just did not like running those days. I would have to say that I only had a handful of these terrible runs. I am blessed.
I started the year off with minimal runs as the winter snow covered the streets and sidewalks. I also dealt with cold temperatures. After a while, I could only handle the cold for so long. The runs were too cold and I started bugging out. I do not have a treadmill or a gym membership, so the first few months of the year, were rough. My trip to the Philippines put my running to a halt for almost two weeks. March was a low mileage month. After my trip to the Philippines, it was time to start my marathon training. This put me back on track.
I started my marathon training off strong looking forward to running the Portland Marathon in October. I was getting race ancy but I had missed the two races that were offered in the months between January and May. In May, Brent and I had the opportunity to go to Boise on behalf of the organization that we went with to the Philippines. There was a great trail beside the river that took us throughout the city. The trail had markers for every tenth of a mile. This made it easy to plan a run in a location we knew nothing about. Running outside of our normal routes is always refreshing. Then came the first race of the 
year! In June, Brent and I ran the Lewis & Clark Half Marathon. This was a race that I was not ready for. I had the mileage logged and the base built, but I had not been training on hills. There were a few more hills than I wanted but I still managed to PR at 1:57:45, an 8:59 minute/mile pace.
Then I logged a few miles in the mountains running down the hill one morning after camping only to have to turn around and go back up. Even though it was a hard run, it was a beautiful run. Running up in the mountains puts a new perspective on hitting the pavement. In July, we went out to Oregon. I was able to log a couple of fun runs. One was starting up at Brent’s parents house and running down the hill into town only to turn around and run back up. This was my longest run yet and my first run over 13.1 miles. It was a hot morning but it felt good to put in a hard run. Then I was able to run a 10k trail race with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law’s girlfriend. It had to have been one of the best races. It was just for the fun of it and it was a hilly paradise back 
in the Forest Park trail system in Portland. I am looking forward to running in Forest Park again.
A few weeks later we ran a half marathon up in the Gravelly Mountain Range in southern Montana. It was a race that we only wanted to finish no matter what time we came in at. We ran at a decent pace and even walked up the hills! It is a little harder to breath up at an average elevation of 9,000 feet. It was a race to remember. I invested in much needed new shoes that are in my opinion some of the best looking shoes. Not that that is the important thing. It is a shoe that feels great to run in. Then we started getting down to business again logging mile after mile for our marathon training. We ran the same routes again and again. 
We did throw in some fun trail runs along the way. We needed to spice things up a little bit.
My 18 miler turned out wonderful. It was a great run that ended with an ice bath. What a great feeling of being ice cold! Oh wait, there is more to it than that. It was a great way to relax the muscles and help them recover. It was much easier to walk around after sitting in an ice bath. In September, I ran my third half marathon of the year. It was a beautiful morning and everything just seemed right. I was only planning on keeping a pace that just felt right and that is what I did. It turned out that it was a great pace. I finished in 1:47:38. That is an 8:13 minute/mile pace! I rocked it and loved it! After one more 10k race, it was marathon time. The 10k was great as I set another PR!
The marathon went great! So great, I have registered for another one. Portland was the best place to do my first marathon. With the support of family and friends, I made it through the 26.2 miles running the entire way. Despite getting stopped by a couple trains, I was ecstatic and almost started to bawling my eyes out. It was a wonderfully emotional experience. After the marathon, I logged miles on my favorite trail in Bozeman over and over again going as far as I wanted. There was no training plan left to follow. I put my shoes on to enjoy the moments of running however far I felt. These runs also took me to Shelby to endure my first winter run in which I did not have the right clothing. Bozeman had such a wonderful fall I forgot that up north 
might be different. I finished out the racing year with a Thanksgiving Day 10k with the family!
I finished out the end of the year keeping up my base mileage throughout the weeks with various long runs on the weekends. My shoes traveled around 3 states, but the places they took me where amazing. The views are different from a running perspective and I cannot wait to see where they take me in 2012. After a year of ice baths, blisters, black toes, side stitches, and sore/tight muscles, I still want to keep up running! I ended the year with my slowest run because the route I chose ended up being full of 
ice. What do you do when you are in the middle of a run and are miles away from home without anyway of changing your route? Well, I improvised and ran on the side as much as I could and walked more than I had even when I was feeling sick. What a way to end the year.