The Numbers: Looking Back at 2015, Looking Forward to 2016

Twenty-fifteen was all about finding balance. Every year, my relationship with running changes. This year was all about racing quality. I continued to race the club runs as training workouts and chose a select few goal races. Beyond that, it was unusual for me to toe the line with the goal of merely finishing. As a result, I pared back the number of races I ran and did a lot more volunteering instead. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Hatchery 4 Miler: I helped with registration and took bib tags until our final (and 89 year old) runner, John, pictured in the blue jacket, came across the line through his own finish line cheer tunnel. Look at that huge smile on his face! THAT right there is why I love volunteering.

Y. Kim, SRRC photo.

Humboldt Bay Half Marathon: At the inaugural running of this race, I ran as the 1:50 half marathon pacer. I loved having such a different goal and helping others achieve theirs. I would love to have this opportunity again sometime, maybe at a marathon instead?

My yearly running mileage crept up and by the time I reached the final week of the year, I aimed for 2,345 miles. It wasn't until I returned home from my trip and was reunited with my running log, that I realized my calculations were incorrect and I ended up with 2,360.5 instead. Oops.

I finished the year with 1,741 kitty sightings. Considering all the miles I spent on trails where I didn't want to spot a kitty (read: mountain lion), I'm happy with that number, too.

Aside from the asthma-related DNF I took at a half marathon in August, my allergies and asthma have been calm. I'm not sure what brought on this change, but it's the first year since moving here five years ago that it hasn't severely interfered with my running.

With the exception of the half marathon in September when I was really sick with a cold, all of my goal races went well and I ran a new PR at each of them.  I consider my best race this year to be the Siskiyou Outback 50K. All that summertime hiking helped me find my climbing legs and I was surprised to come away with a forty minute course PR.

Candid shot somewhere after halfway. I'm pretty sure I wore this same smile all 31 miles.

I resumed my yoga practice and spent a lot more time hiking up steep things. Mountains made a big impact on my summer and I'm looking forward to building on that this year. I don't track hiking or walking mileage because one mile never really compares to the next, but it was easily the most hiking I've done in one year.

Twenty-fifteen was the year I said goodbye to my beloved Garmin Forerunner 205. My very first GPS watch was a reliable friend until the very end. After she died during CIM, I went home, opened her up, replaced the battery and she still wouldn't hold a charge. When I looked more closely at the circuit board, I noticed several of the little gold connectors from the battery to the computer had corroded and rusted off, probably from too many runs in the rain. With over 10,000 miles together, it was time. RIP you giant monster, my wrist doesn't feel the same without you!

------

Continuing on in 2016, I'm looking forward to learning more about myself as an athlete and exploring different types of running.

This spring, I'm trying something new: a 50 miler. Training during an El Nino year (read: so. much. rain.) will be a challenge, but that's fine until my Oreos get soggy.

At this point, I think the forecast is a copy-n-paste job of the previous week.

5Ks and 10Ks Galore: Instead of a summertime trail 50K cycle, my plan is to see what I can do at the short end of the racing spectrum. I've never trained for a 5K or 10K, so my PRs have always been a byproduct of marathon training. It's time to see what I'm made of before I get too old and lose all my fast twitchers. I'm planning on making more of my local runs goal races and see where that takes me. Maybe I'll even grow to like the short stuff. One can dream, right?  Of course, fitness is fitness, so I'm sure it will help me become faster at the marathon when I finally return to that, probably in time for CIM in December.

I'd like to make cross-training more of a priority. Instead of trying to carve out hour-long dates with my yoga mat, I'm aiming for daily short sessions, fifteen or twenty minutes in length. I'm hoping more consistency will bring better results and flexibility. I've settled into a comfortable home practice and am no longer worried about when or where I'll find an official class. If it's meant to be, I'll find one. Look how Zen I am already. ;)

I'd like to help grow the women's running group. So far, there's a core of five or six of us who attend runs regularly, but I'd love for that number to double, especially slower runners. Our group's pace is pretty casual, but many fear they're too slow. I used to be that person, so I have to stress that nobody will be left behind on one of our runs. Sometimes that means I'm almost walking with the last person, but I know all of us have to start somewhere.

Christmas Eve run.

I want to make a point to say hi to more strangers at races. I did that at a race this year and then the girl joined the club and nudged me out of first place in the race series (grrr! maybe I'll ask how old the person is before I decide to be friendly again? hehe). I once heard that the running club is intimidating, it would be nice to introduce myself to new faces and soften that image.

------

What kind of goals do you have for 2016?  I'd love to hear about them, so leave a comment, please!