Monday, December 31, 2012

Year-End Summary-2012

A few year-end running reflections on New Year's Eve.

My aim in running is to simply run.  People ask me why I run and I simply shrug and tell them "I just enjoy running."  And the older I get, it gets even more simple.  And clear.

And fun.

It's satisfying, then, for me (a numbers type of guy) to see the numbers from this year's running backing up my gut feel that 2012 was a good hear.

On the aggregate, 2012 is the first calendar year I've ever run more than 1,500 miles.  Training and racing totaled 1,563.  Sweet.

My graph

Racing went well, too.   The year had 17 races including 2 ultras, 7 marathons (5 road, 2 trail) and a pair of half marathons.  No bonks and 5 of the marathons were in near-perfect conditions, allowing even more number crunching.

Other developments in the year of minor public interest yet notable in my mind include:

  • Trail running.  I'm enjoying training and racing on trails, more and more.  A long run in the woods on dirt is really getting to be more and more fun. 
  • Camping. I've never been much of a camper until this year.  What a fun way to go to a race, sleep in a tent the night before, wake up with the birds and go run?  
  • Shoe shift.  After years in the Brooks Beast, I shifted to the lighter Brooks Adrenalines in May.  It has worked well.     
  • Audio Books.  I've discovered I enjoy listening to books on my mp3 player during long training runs. 
And all of that is really minor.  

I just enjoy running.  And that's enough.

Happy 2013!  

Persevere.  



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1 comment:

Sarah said...

Nice year Joe! I hope 2013 is even better. Happy Trails!