The year of 2012 was a great one for my running life. I logged 1207 miles over the course of the year. That is almost 160 miles more than 2011! I loved that I logged more miles. I do know that I did slack a little during the summer and later in the year. Overall, it was a great year of running. Now where did all those miles take me? From the south to the pacific, I ran in more states last year than I had before. I think I had only ran in Oregon and Montana before 2012. I love branching out. I hope you enjoy my 2012 running review!
I started my year off by training for my second marathon, Nashville Country Music Marathon. I was starting my year off right by logging several miles. I was doing a lot more training this time around than I did for the Portland Marathon. I did one of my first long training runs in Bismarck, North Dakota. I got up ridiculously early so that I would have time to spend the rest of my day with my grandma. It turned out to be crazy cold and the trail I ran on ended. My long run turned to a short run as I didn’t know where I should go and I was running alone. That was a great way to start off the running year.
The rest of my training runs went really well and I logged four 20 milers and several 16 milers. I ran my first race in March for Saint Patty’s Day. It was a half marathon and a good one. It started off a little chilly but ended perfect. Training was going really well for my next race, the Nashville marathon. I was sprinting around a local pond each week trying to increase my speed and just to get that extra kick. I ran Nashville and had a blast! I did not slow down too much after that race. I stuck with my training for a while and ran an intense half marathon in Bozeman in June. It was the Lewis and Clark Half and it was hilly! I then pr’d at the local 4th of July 10k Run for Independence! In the middle of July, I enjoyed another half marathon in a small town just outside of Bozeman. It was another great race, but it turned out to be a little hotter that morning than expected.
In August, I ran my first team relay that was 180 miles! (Too many posts to link to, but go ahead and check out all the GTR posts if you haven’t!) It was most definitely my favorite race of the year and I am looking forward to it again in 2013. During the summer months and all of these races, I was training for the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. I definitely did some slacking and in September, I got back into gear. The summer and its activities had swept me away. I ran the half at the Bozeman Half Marathon and was so close to setting a new half marathon PR! Maybe in 2013! At the end of September, Brent and I both ran a new distance, and 8k! It was fun and short and a great evening run! October rolled around and I was able to enjoy my third marathon in San Francisco. The NWM was a tough one, but it was very enjoyable. It helped that I have such a supporting husband! I ran my last race of the year at the local Thanksgiving Day run, Huffing for Stuffing. This was an enjoyable one as my parents were in town and the whole family was running! The races of 2012 definitely made some memories.
I accomplished two marathons, four half marathons, one 10k, one 8k and one relay. What a year! I also set a 10k PR! I did it in 48:46.7. I had not ran a 10k under 50 minutes yet. I also have not ran many 10k’s since I discovered my love for half marathons. Also in 2012, I learned how to run with others. I had rarely ran with any one other than Brent or my sister before this last year. I like my pace. I am good at keeping my pace, but when it comes to running with other people, this tends to get tainted. I must say I have grown to love running with others. Whether that means they are faster or slower than I am. I have also had the opportunity to encourage several people to start running!
This year was also a year of difficulties in running. I had to overcome miserably smoking days while training for my third marathon. I deviated from my training plans, which in the end I believe hurt me a little. I also felt like I got burnt out. By the end of the year, I was only running a couple days a week and I was okay with that. I love what I can accomplish from running, but at the same time with everything else going on in my life, it was stressing me out. I decided that it would be good for my body if I just took it easy. I think it helped a lot. It also made it exciting when I started logging more miles again.
I love running and can’t wait to see what happens in 2013. I do think that it will be a completely different year for me than the last few, but I look forward to seeing what happens. Come on and run with me!
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