2014 Year in Review

This morning, my "TimeHop" app showed me the blog I wrote 4 years ago, which was a recap of my 2010 year of running. I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of 2010 to 2014, and write the blog in the same style.

Here is the 2010 year-in-review blog.

Yearly Mileage: 2134

In 2014, I ran a total of 2134 miles. This is 422 more miles than in 2013, when I ran 1712 miles. This is primarily due to the fact that I was injured in 2013, and I was not injured in 2014. 

In 2010, I ran 2136 miles, so I missed setting a yearly mileage PR by two miles. I was aware of this, but decided to stick to my training plan, and not "find" an extra two miles in the last week.

In 2010, 580 miles were on a treadmill and the rest were outdoors (thanks to the blizzard of 2010) 

In 2014, 149 miles were on a treadmill and the rest were outdoors.

2014 Weekly mileage

My highest mileage month was August with 229 miles. My lowest mileage month was May with just 80 miles, due to marathon recovery and hoping to finally rid myself of a nagging hamstring issue.

I started working with a new coach in July, and he's helped me increase my mileage without getting injured. In the past, I never knew exactly how to spread the miles throughout the week for maximum benefit with minimal injury risk. But with my customized plan, everything has felt challenging, but not to the point of over training.

My yearly mileage is on the upswing, a trend I love to see:

Yearly mileage

Races

Thanks to staying injury-free, I was able to do a good number of races this year. Four of these races were PRs (in bold).

• February: George Washington Birthday 10K in 45:44
• March: Shamrock half marathon in 1:42:24
• April: Cherry Blossom 10-miler in 1:15:25
• April: Crystal Run 5K Friday in 22:11
• May: Mississauga Marathon in 3:43:44
• July: Firecracker 5K in 22:54
• September: RnR Philadelphia 1/2 Marathon in 1:47:14 (major heat bonk)
• October: Boo! Run for Life 10K in 44:13
• October: Columbus Marathon in 3:40:00
• November: Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K in 21:30
• December: Ringing In Hope 10K in 45:27

The turkey trot in November was just one second shy of my PR, and I am confident I would have PRed both my half marathons if the weather conditions hadn't been so unfavorable. 

My half marathon PR is now over 4 years old and I really think I can beat it by a significant amount if I get decent weather. 

Awards

I won 1st place in my age group at the Boo! Run for Life 10K, and 3rd place in my age group at both the Turkey Trot and the Ringing in Hope 10K.

Accomplishments

This year, I was really focused on upping my mental game-- both on the race course and off.  On the race course, this meant being mentally prepared for the hard times as well as conserving my mental energy for racing and not wasting it on things I can't control.

Off the course, this meant having a more positive attitude about my running, keeping it fun, and not defining myself by my running achievements.  Specifically, here were some major wins:

• Mental toughness during Cherry Blossom. I pushed extremely hard during that race after having felt like I didn't give it my all at the Shamrock half.
• Keeping positive during the hot, humid Philadelphia half marathon. I pushed hard and ran the fastest race I could given the circumstances. When I bonked and ended up with one of my slowest times ever, I didn't let that upset me and ruin the week-long vacation I had after that
• Stepping out of my comfort zone and working with a new coach. Having the confidence to approach new and challenging workouts, and valuing change for the sake of change.
• Qualifying for Boston. 2014 was the year I finally did it! And I wouldn't have been able to do it if I didn't give it every ounce of power during those final few minutes.
• Being less focused on time. I've gone into every race with goals that were non-time based, and as a result, the time hasn't mattered as much to me as achieving these other goals.
• Staying injury free. Listening to my body and knowing when to back off or cut a workout short.

Pictures

Shamrock half marathon, running through a headwind

Cherry Blossom 10-miler

Crystal Run 5K Friday

Mississauga Marathon

Firecracker 5K

Boo! Run for Life 10K

Columbus Marathon BQ!

Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K

Ringing In Hope 10K

My primary goals for 2015 are to run happy, healthy, and to continue to become a stronger running, both physically and mentally.