Twenty-fifteen was a big year. I ran a personal best at every distance except one. I knew it would be tough to top that. One never knows when a plateau will hit so I kept reaching higher and higher until I broke. Little did I know how early in the year that would come.
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| The day I gave up on training for a 50 miler. Lost Creek Lake, Oregon. |
When my allergies became too overwhelming to continue training for a fifty mile race, I became frustrated. I almost decided to give up all my goals for the year.... in January. I ran mostly easy mileage until March, when I began to feel better. It wasn't all bad. If there's one thing I love, it's running slow through the forest. I've never been one of those Type-A runners who runs too fast every time. This girl likes to stop and count the kitties, of which I spotted 1,663 this year, if you're wondering. :)
Despite a slow start to the training year, I was able to realize many of my goals. One was to get better acquainted with the 5K. Embrace the pain. Oh, and embrace it, I did. I'm one who always chooses the longer race distance, but this year, I confused all my friends and hit the 5K races. They hurt. One in particular was during 50K training peak week. It hurt from the very first step.
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| Arcata Marsh 5K XC Race, 22:53. Ouch ouch ouch. Y. Kim photo. |
I modeled my subsequent race plan on that run. I can make it hurt and I can like it (okay, really, that last part is a lie). The interesting thing is that, despite a varying level of rested legs, my road times all fell within a twenty-second range, probably indicating I am still hitting a mental barrier somewhere.
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| My best 5K of the year: Fortuna Rodeo, 22:10. |
It's no surprise that my mileage base continued to grow. More mileage means more fun and as long as the bulk of my training is slow, it doesn't tire me out too much. Sometimes I wonder if tracking only running miles discourages me from cross-training, but when I look at all the photos I took this year, I realize it doesn't. Hiking is still my second favorite activity and I seem to have no problem subbing hikes in for long runs, which I did more often in 2016 than ever before.
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| Seven Lakes Basin, Oregon. |
I was sick for more of my races in 2016. Then El Nino crapped on several of my races, which here in NW California means very heavy sideways rain or winds that almost knock you over. My results were all over the place, but I was able to have several fast race results in the marathon (3:28 and 3:27) and half marathon (1:39 and 1:38). By the end of the year, I had edged my times down enough to produce a PR at both distances.
By the end of February, my daily yoga practice had worn out my left hand. My index finger hurt all the time and I'm pretty sure I had a stress fracture. I kept to seated poses and stretching until it felt better....which was some four months later. I'm still cautious and no longer practice every day. In the interim, I took up squats and additional body weight core exercises. Ouch. I could tell the inequalities between my right and left side were growing, but I didn't think much of it until my physical therapist pointed it out in December. That's probably contributing to my hip issues.
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| This is the circuit I started doing. |
In 2017, I'd like to take a different approach to total body strength. Instead of growing the inequalities with real weight, I'm going to try and balance with resistance in the pool. I don't know quite how I'll work that into a training schedule, but I'd like to swim once a week. Maybe with a triathlon planned for this year, I will actually follow through with that goal. ;)
As for running races, I don't have a lot on the calendar yet. I've got a half marathon and marathon set for the spring, but after that, I'd like to see where my hip is at before I commit to anything else. I'm still working out the details of the training plan, but I'll share it once everything is finalized.
Overall, I enjoyed 2016. All the poor race results helped me appreciate those days that did go well. Each up and down helps make me a more balanced and level-headed athlete and for that I'm grateful.
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| Avenue of the Giants Marathon, THIRD PLACE!!! and 3:28. :) :) :) |
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What were the best/worst days of your running in 2016? What do you have planned for 2017?
6 comments:
I use the Oiselle dirty dozen as well, it's great!
My best day running in 2016 was when I won Hanase Trail Run in Japan, it was like a dream! And my worst was probably when I race the last 25K of Oslo Ecotrail with an awful side stitch... It's terrible when you feel like you've run under your potential.
I'm going to do a lot of cycling for the first six months of 2016 (I'm signed up for a super long road bike event in early July), and then do some long rugged mountain running races late in the season... It's going to be an interesting year!
It will be interesting to see how your training changes for the sprint triathlon.
Boo to the allergies messing with your running. This was a crazy year for that. I'm hoping you have a better 2017!
You had a great running year! In spite of all your allergies...you know your body and your limits so well - that in itself is a huge accomplishment.
I had a crap year of running, some of that was my own fault and some was figuring out how to get rid of awful plantar faciitis. I started working again in August and I still haven't figured out how to carve workout time out of my days. Weekend warrioring led to a tough twin cities marathon. And I've put on too much weight.
I am hoping for more balance this year. I have 2 half marathons on my spring schedule, so that is some external motivation. We'll see.
I had a pretty solid year of running/cycling and remained injury free. Now, goals for 2017 are as follows...... 1) stretching 2) yoga classes 3) push up challenge 4) uploading to Strava daily 5) Portland trip for continued education 6) trade show in St Louis 7) competing in the Bryce UT 50K in June 8) possibly adding a Vlog to my daily time lapse work on Youtube
I wish You, Matt, & Zoey All The Best This Year!!
Cheers
P.S. More importantly, thanx so much for being such an inspiration. Big Hugs
The important thing is that you're having fun. You still had some great accomplishments for 2016 - good luck meeting your 2017 goals.
Molly, Yes! That race you ran in Japan was amazing! You've become such a strong trail runner, it's been fun watching you improve. I'm excited to see what you can do on bike races this year.
Thanks Wendy. Every year is bad allergy year for me. I'm allergic to the coast. Not enough hard frosts.
Bobbi, I miss your blog so much! Please come back! :)
Padre, Aww, thank you! I have a friend running Bryce 50K too. It looks like a gorgeous course!
Linda, Agreed. What's the point if it isn't fun? :)
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