Merry Christmas!

Time flies. It seems like it was yesterday I was beginning to train for my second marathon. Truth is it's been a full year! And a full year it was. Full of new friendships, family, work, goals and no shortage of races! In fact it has been my busiest year when it comes to races. In past years I took the winter off from running. I was never a fan of being cold (which sucks when you can't put on body fat to save your life) and the idea of running outside in it never appealed to me. This year was different though, I ran through the winter (until sidelined with pneumonia) and continued to train all summer! I ran more races and miles this year than ever before!

 5k

Shamrock 19:39

Oaklawn 19:21 (right after the 10k)

Blueberry fest 18:27 (new PR)

7k

Run to Climax 28:59

5 mile

Schoolcraft Firecracker 33:33

10k

Oaklawn 40:00

1/2 Marathon

Borgess Run for the Health of It 1:32:46

Sunburst Hall of Fame to Notre Dame 1:33:00 (hace calor!!!)

North Country Trail 1:48:27 (3rd overall!!!)

25k

5/3 Riverbank Run 1:47:43

Marathon

Chicago 5:04:00 (how about that wall!)

Indianapolis Monumental 3:27:48

They clearly weren't all success stories but I learned something from each one. Sunburst I learned how hot it can get in early June. Chicago I learned you can't not run for two weeks before a marathon because you're sick, not adjust your strategy at all and not end up on a cot at an aid station for almost an hour at mile 20! Oh and you'll surely walk the last 6 miles after you leave that aid station. Finally in Indy I learned how an easy pace at the beginning and negative splits (and a lot cooler weather) can make for a much more enjoyable marathon experience. I was honestly ready to throw in the towel after the Chicago debacle but I knew if I just played it smarter next time I could have a marathon to be proud of. I was right; The first week of November I finally completed a 26.2 mile trek around town that made me happy. I have to say too that it was a great race all around! The weather was perfect, the race was well organized and it was a beautiful course for the most part too. I'd never been to Indy before but I quickly found the architecture was quite beautiful. If you find yourself looking for a midwest fall marathon I definitely recommend it!

With the end of 2011 rapidly approaching I've been looking back at the past year. I made some goals for myself 12 months ago and I'm on the cusp of reaching one that should have been crushed a couple of months ago and right now it's coming down to the wire! I set a goal of 1000 miles for the year and I am currently 27 miles short of that with less than a week to go. I know that doesn't seem like it's going to be hard, that's what I thought too until the nagging, sometimes sharp pain in my hip decided to be so annoying during this mornings run that the planned 7 miles turned into a disappointing 1.5. I'm hoping that with some Ice and Ibuprofen coupled with a day of rest tomorrow I can be back on track Tuesday night. Fingers are crossed, wood has been knocked, salt has been tossed. C'mon hip don't fail me now! I should have been able to check this one off months ago but the pneumonia in March that would't allow me to run for a month and a half and the part where I only ran six times between Chicago and Indy didn't help either. Another goal I had was staying smoke free and I'm very happy to announce that I have done just that and it's not looking like that's going to change anytime soon. I managed to meet a lot of the goals I set out for myself. There were a few I fell short on, and some I just didn't even come close to lol. I met plenty of new runners thanks to the Epic Crew and Kalamazoo Area Runners; I ran at least one race in every distance I'd planned on; I ran races in three different states; And I kept track of every mile I ran...in at least three different places...you know... for posterity sake. Looks like this week I'll have to work on some goals for the next 12 months.

I hope you all had plenty of joy over the last dozen pages of the calendar. I know I did! I'll leave you with some pictures to help illustrate the good times.

Epic Crew after the Kalamazoo Marathon and Borgess 1/2 Mar. 

 Having Fun During the Bakers Dozen Beer Run 13.1

 Wearing womens sunglasses after 4 hours of drinking following the Bakers Dozen

Having some fun at the start of the NCTR

Final sprint in the NCTR 1/2 "The Battle for 3rd"

Post race partying has been underway for 5 hours and 10 minutes at this point haha

Chicago Marathon before the "wall"

Made the front page of the Chicago Sun Times for the Marathon! No BS!

I love Halloween! Animallllll!

2nd Anual Epic Crew Bloody Mary Run

Finishing the Blueberry Fest 5K

The Loot from AG wins in the Oaklawn 10K and 5K

Bottle of wine and a big ass medal 3rd overall North Country Trail 1/2 Mar

Finishing 5/3 Riverbank 25K

Finsishing Indy Monumental!

Indy Bling!