I’ve been terrible about blog posting this year. No excuses, I just didn’t feel like I had
anything to say. The year is coming to a
close so I thought I would wrap up 2016 and look forward a bit.
2016 was a good running year, it sucked in way too many ways but with
regards to running, it was good. I ran a
bunch of races, set a 5K, 10K and a half
marathon PR and stayed injury free for the whole year! I guess I set a marathon PR too but it wasn’t
much of an effort or a PR. My biggest
accomplishment was hitting my overall goal of at least 100 miles per month, not
1200 miles for 2016, but 100 or more miles per month. I still have eleven miles left to make this
goal for December but I’m fairly confident with three days left that I will
make it. I set this goal because I
thought it would make me run consistently throughout the year and it did. As I look back on my training log, I see that
almost every week I had 25 to 30 miles of running which was just perfect for
me.
 |
| On my way to 1/2 marathon PR |
The following is a table of the races I ran this year and the overall
pace of each event. I’m never going to
be speedy, but I have picked it up a bit.
The bolded races are my PR’s.
Super Manny was probably a PR but the overall course was short. The 10:18 was what was on my own watch, the
race shows me at under 10 a mile but that’s not right. Anyway, I ran a lot of races this past
year. I’m planning on cutting back in
2017 and definitely not running a marathon.
Date
|
Name
|
Length
|
Pace
|
2/7/2016
|
Super Shuffle
|
5K
|
10:44
|
3/12/2016
|
St. Patrick's Naperville
|
5K
|
10:43
|
4/9/2016
|
Shake It Off
|
5K
|
10:30
|
4/16/2016
|
Rockdale Ramble
|
10K
|
13:09
|
4/23/2016
|
SlyFox
|
10K
|
11:01
|
5/1/2016
|
Super Manny
|
5K
|
10:18
|
5/7/2016
|
Quarryman
|
10 Miles
|
12:55
|
5/15/2016
|
Chicagoland Spring Half
|
13.1 Miles
|
11:08
|
7/9/2016
|
Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10
|
10 Miles
|
11:52
|
7/21/2016
|
Sundowner 5K
|
5K
|
11:35
|
8/21/2016
|
Windrunners
|
10K
|
11:12
|
8/27/2016
|
Parkies
|
5K
|
10:52
|
8/28/2016
|
Mad to the Bone
|
13.1 Miles
|
12:08
|
9/11/2016
|
Naper Trails Half
|
13.1 Miles
|
12:41
|
10/2/2016
|
Dick Pond Hot Cocoa
|
8 miles
|
11:02
|
10/9/2016
|
Chicago Marathon
|
Marathon
|
13:10
|
10/23/2016
|
Naperville Half Marathon
|
13.1
|
11:10
|
11/20/2016
|
Lisle Turkey Trot Tuneup
|
5K
|
10:48
|
12/3/2016
|
Jingle Bell 5K
|
5K
|
10:58
|
12/4/2016
|
Frigid 5K
|
17:11
|
 |
| Muriel in Aqua, Me in Pink at Quarryman |
I enjoyed all of these races but a couple really stood out
for me. In particular, I really enjoyed
the Quarryman Challenge 10 miler. For
one, it was a very hilly race in Lemont, IL and it was one that I had not run
before. My friend, Muriel and I went out
to Lemont and checked it out before the race and we knew it was going to be
tough. Muriel and I stuck together and
had fun tackling this race. She won an
age group award and afterwards there was a great after party with unlimited
tapped beers from a couple local breweries and pizza too. Not bad for $40. Not sure I’m going to be in town this year,
but if I am, I will definitely do this one again.
 |
| A little to eat after Xtreme 10 |
This year, I also enjoyed the Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10. I’ve done this before and hated it but this
year the weather was a little cooler and I felt good going into it. Andy, Petra and I stayed together right until
the end and Petra and I squeaked to the finish in just under two hours. We had a blast!
 |
| The 15 miler that almost killed me. Thanks guys! |
All of these races were fun but I enjoyed more the
Bolingbrook Fun Run Club runs with friends.
Some were marathon training runs, some were just fun runs but all of
them were good. The one that sticks out
the most in my mind was an ugly, hot, humid early morning 15 miler that knocked
the crap out of me. I was sweating so
much that I couldn’t cool off and had to walk the last three miles. But, I did not walk them alone. Caroline and Andy said “no big deal” and
walked back with me. They don’t know how
much I appreciated this.
 |
| 12 miles alone |
I also enjoyed my “alone” miles. These are the miles where I work on speed and
form and think about nothing and everything at the same time. I don’t have to worry about anyone else’s
pace, where I’m going to run or even if I am going to finish. As I’ve gotten older, I realize I like being
with myself. Sometimes, I like that more
than anything else at all.
2017 is just a few days away. I don’t have huge plans for the year – no marathons,
no ultras, etc. I do plan to up my
monthly mileage commitment to 110 miles per month and have joined the Run The
Year challenge as part of a two man team.
I’m hoping to run stronger and faster, not longer. Maybe knock off a few more PRs. I guess my big goal for the year is to make
it to the next age group (birthday in September) without injury. That to me is more important than any other
goal.
I’m already signed up for a few races for 2017:
Date
|
Race
|
Distance
|
Pace
|
1/7/2017
|
Polar Dash
|
Half Marathon
|
|
4/8/2017
|
Shake it Off
|
5K
|
|
4/23/2017
|
Naperville Woman’s Half
|
Half Marathon
|
|
4/29/2017
|
Adirondack Fox Trot
|
Virtual 10K
|
|
7/26/2017
|
Hilloopy
|
Muliple 5Ks
|
I will be adding some other races too depending on whether
or not I’m in town. Races like the
Geneva Super Shuffle, Rockdale Ramblin 10K, Quarryman Challenge 10 miler,
Sundowner 5K…. the possibilities (unlike
the wallet) are endless.
Here’s to 2017!
