2012 in Review

I seriously slacked on blog-posting for the latter half of 2012.  Fortunately, I did not slack on my miles.  I had set a goal of 1800 miles for 2012 and I was very excited to run the total at the end of the year and see that I had in fact exceeded my goal with 2,024 miles for the year.

Here are some fun facts about what I was doing with those miles:

2 Marathons - the Mercedes Marathon in February and the Rocket City Marathon (#5!!!) in December.  The good news about Rocket City is that I had a really nice PR!  The bad news is that it was probably the hardest marathon (mentally) that I have run.  For one thing, they are real sticklers about the no iPod rule.  Every race will advise you not to wear headphones, but this race will sho-nuff disqualify you.  I ran Marine Corps Marathon without an iPod (not by choice) but at least during that race I had good friends to run with, 20,000 other runners and ginormous crowd support.  This was a much smaller race in a much smaller town, and I was worried about keeping myself entertained.  The other big challenge was the weather.  I definitely prefer to run in cooler temperatures, and in the days leading up to the race I watched the forecast creep from a low in the 30s to a low in the 50s.  It made me sick to my stomach.  The temperature stayed right around 60 degrees the entire race.  At every water stop I probably poured as much water on myself as I actually drank to keep cool and hydrated.  I also ran with a pace group for the first time and I definitely think it helped.  Weather aside, it was a great race and great PR!

6 Half Marathons - First Light Half, Gulf Coast Half in Gulf Shores, Princess Half, Gulf Coast Half in Pensacola, Jazz Half and Soldier Half.  The Jazz Half is possibly my favorite half and one I don't mind doing year after year.  The only downside to the race this year was they had to cut the course short due to some road construction.  The Soldier Half was a also a great race and I would like to do the full someday.

2 (Very Different) Relays - In May, I did the Memphis to Mobile relay to benefit St. Jude Children's Hospital.  Then in October, I did the Southern Odyssey relay which began in Rome, Georgia and ended in Kennesaw, Georgia.

5 Pairs of Shoes.  Not 5 whole pairs, as I started out the year with one pair, went through 3 pairs and I am using the 5th pair into the new year.

As far as goals for 2013... I can't decide if I want to leave my mileage goal at 1800 or bump it up to 2000.  I am already registered for the Albany (Snickers) Marathon in March.  I am leaning towards an Ultra (50K) in the fall, and maybe another marathon.