The Obligatory 2012 in Review Post

2011 was a great year for me. There were a lot of ups, and very few downs. I guess I just expected 2012 to be the same way - full of lots of running cheer and PR's. I got greedy, I suppose.

Instead, 2012 was full of ups and downs. It started out with so many downs, in fact, that by the end of April I had deemed 2012 as just "not my year." To be honest, there were many times throughout the year where I was downright deflated. But, as always, tides turn and I ended up finishing the year on a positive note.

Here is my 2012 in review...

January:

We head to Phoenix to run the Rock & Roll Marathon. 

I wouldn't be smiling much on race day...

A few days prior to the race, however, I felt a slight pull in my glute/hamstring when I was doing some squats. I didn't think anything of it until I went for a shakeout run a few days prior to the marathon. I made this entry in my running log, never thinking that it might cost me a DNF in a race.

Cue, my first DNF. I swore I would never quit, never give up, never "did not finish" a race, but in Phoenix it happened. It was humbling and it was heartbreaking. I found solace in an Irish pub somewhere on Arizona State's campus.

To add salt to the wounds, I lost a bet to my Twitter buddy Jim and had to race Phoenix in a Univ of Kentucky shirt. Being a Louisville alumna, that sucked. The damn shirt was bad juju! :) 

Clearly hating life.

I come back from Phoenix, go to the doctor, am told I have pissed off my sciatic nerve and need to take 2 weeks off from running. This would be my longest break from running ever.

I don't run a step for two weeks then got back to training (albeit too aggressively). And I am super inspired to get back at it and decide to sign up for the Woodlands Marathon in early March to get redemption on that DNF!

February:

Running is going better at times, but I am still experiencing sharp leg pain in runs over 14 miles. This does not bode well for my March marathon. I decide to pull the plug on the race. 

March:

Things get better. I'm signed up to race Boston in April and I finally start to run double digits without pain. I even get back into racing, albeit I'm slower than I want to be and it's humbling.

This is the race where the girl in front of me literally shit herself. Suddenly things weren't so bad on my end.

April:

Things continue to go well until they don't. I pull a muscle mis-stepping in a hole doing a fartlek workout on the grass. Same sad story, same sad injury - that darn left leg again. I just keep irritating it. The Boston Marathon is just around the corner. I debate whether to even run or not, but I do.

To add more insult to injury, Boston experiences a heat wave on race morning. I limp through Boston in ridiculously warm temps and pretty much run a personal worst. I barely scrape in under 4 hours.

After Boston, I really struggle with my feeling about running. I feel lost and frustrated. I really struggle with comparing my current fitness level to where it was at the same time in 2011. 

I decide to shift focus for awhile and train for another Half-Ironman. I decide to train for Buffalo Springs Half-Ironman in June, hoping to get revenge on a killer course that brought me to my knees back in 2009.

I start biking again and am in the pool 5 days a week. I'm still running, but double digit runs over 10 miles are few and far between in order to keep my leg issue at bay.

Things are getting better. June approaches and I decide to make it a double race weekend in Lubbock and race the Sprint Triathlon the day before the Half-Ironman. 

I finish 4th female overall and win my age group in the Sprint triathlon.

Posting with my Yosemite Sam Award

The next day I successfully get revenge on the Buffalo Springs Course, besting my previous time by 25 minutes.

July:

I start training for the Baltimore Marathon. My goal is to go Sub-3:10 and best my current marathon PR of 3:10:25. I work hard and my running fitness starts to come back.

August:

I decide to race a local duathlon (5k run/18 mile bike/5k run) though I haven't been on my bike since June. My goal with racing this event is to try to go sub-21 on both 5ks. I do (19:44 and 20:20). I finish second female overall.

Receiving my award!

September:

I am feeling more and more confident. I win the Burning Pines 10k in Bastrop. 

Bastrop 10k

I PR in the 5k in 19:16.

Then things go awry again with my damn left leg. I over stride in a track workout, irritating my hamstring again. The pain radiates up and down my leg left and it's deja vu all over again. I sit out of a planned relay I am supposed to run that weekend and freak the hell out that a PR in Baltimore in a few shorts weeks is out of the question.

I enter taper for Baltimore and I am unsure of whether my left leg will hold up for 26.2, or is the same old issues will resurface.

October:

I run a local 10k the weekend before Baltimore and run horribly. I am highly doubtful at this point of being able to run anything faster than a 3:15 in Baltimore.

But, somehow, I manage to PR in Baltimore, running a 3:08:05 to finish 11th woman and 2nd in my age group. I am beyond thrilled.

After Baltimore, I give myself a week of celebration (basically gluttony) but then it's back to work because I have the Rock & Roll San Antonio Marathon a few weeks later, then the BCS Marathon a few weeks after that. I really struggle with how to recover from Baltimore and keep myself motivated for the next two marathons.

November:

The Rock & Roll San Antonio Marathon approaches, and in true San Antonio fashion, the weather looks miserable. I have nothing to lose with this race so decide just to roll with the punches and take what the day gives me.

What I thought was going to be a miserable day, turned into a magical day. I finish 2nd overall female in 3:15 and win $1,000 and a memory that will last a lifetime. I still tear up thinking about it. I am reminded that hard work and pure mental grit does in fact pay off.

Sheer excitement

December:

I have one more marathon on my schedule and I again struggle to stay motivated to run another marathon. Holiday mode takes over me, but I make it to the start line of the BCS Marathon. We're faced with another positively shitty weather day - no other way to put it - but I make it through in 3:19. I finish 3rd female and win another $200, which made it worth the suffering. 

What? You've seen this outfit before? Not sure why I have  drawers full of running clothes  yet wear the exact same thing for every marathon. Superstitious, I guess.

BCS Awards Ceremony

Since then? I've been enjoying (my own) version of the off-season until I start training for my Spring Marathon (TBD yet whether this will be Eugene or Louisville).

MIGAS. If you don't live in Texas, you probably don't know what this is, but it's Mexican breakfast, otherwise known as one of the best things on earth.

Tailgating Sampler from Buffalo Wild Wings

I've also been hanging out a lot with this guy.

2012, to me, was a reminder to me that in life there will always be difficulties, trials and adversities to overcome. Sometimes you have to fall down (several times) before you can get back up, and you only become stronger by doing so. 

Cheers to (an injury free) 2013!