Good Bye 2016, Hello 2017

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!