2013 In Review – A Year of Running!

2013 was a pretty crazy running year for me.  It was my first full year as a runner!

I only spent half of 2012 as a runner after starting the Couch to 5k program that July.  At this time last year, I had been running for 6 months.   My longest race distance was a 5k, my longest run was 4 miles, and the most I had ever run in one week was 9 miles.

In December of this year, my longest race distance is a half marathon, my longest run was 13.3 miles, and the most I have ever run in one week was 23 miles.  That’s an enormous change!  I wrote on January 1st that “if I have a New Year’s Resolution for 2013, it’s to keep going!”  Well, I certainly did.  And then some.

Here’s my year in review:

January: Started the New Year off right with the Needham Running Club’s New Year’s Day 5k Run.  I wrote a blog post on my parenting blog titled “It’s Time to Start! (RUNNING!)” that became so popular it inspired me to begin iamrunningthis.com six months later.  I loved running, but was only running about twice a week, 3 or 4 miles each time.

February: Ran for the first time out of the country!  While on vacation in St. Martin, Greg and I went for a run together.  It was hot, I was out of shape, and it was a pretty tough two miles.  I came back determined to pick up my running so the next time we went on vacation together running would be more fun!

March: I set a goal to run 10 miles every week, and kept track of it on a calendar on my bureau.  Suddenly I was running 3-4 times a week, 3-4 miles at a time, and I loved what it did for my mood and energy levels.

April: I ran a 5k pushing the double jogging stroller at 10:15 pace.  Greg ran the Boston Marathon for the first time.  I signed up for my first 10k in June and started training.  The night before the Boston Marathon, I talked to Greg about the possibility of training for a half marathon.  I was still running 10 – 12 miles a week every week, my longest run was up to 5 miles, and a 10k seemed well within reach.  A half marathon seemed like a crazy, but exciting, dream.

May: I hit my goal of running at least 10 miles every week.  My longest run was now up to 7 miles.  I felt ready for my first 10k on June 2nd.  I had registered for my first half marathon in September, and not told anyone but Greg.

June: I ran my first 10k, an experience which led to my new running mantra and the name for this blog, “i am running this”.  I realized I was writing almost exclusively about running on my parenting blog, and decided to start a separate blog about running.  On June 9th, I wrote my first blog post.  I told my family I was training for a half marathon, and started extending my long runs.

July: I was in full force training for my first half marathon.  My highest weekly mileage was up to 19, and I ran my first 10 mile run.  I almost quit my plan to run a half marathon, didn’t quit, and then got too far to quit.

August: I had a beautiful recovery week on Cape Cod with no long runs, but some short, scenic ocean runs at a relaxed pace.  My longest run was up to 12 miles.  I had my first week of running over 20 miles.  I felt ready to run that half marathon with the confidence that I could at least finish.  I was featured on www.mile-posts.com as her first “I Run This Blog” interview, where I talk about how running has changed my life and why I love those post-race snack tents.

September: I ran my first half marathon!  Two weeks later, I did a 10 mile long run, just because I could.  It was beautiful.  I also ran a 5k with friends in tutus, my first “repeat” race, the 5k I had done at the end of Couch to 5k a year earlier.  That’s right: I’m still running, I’m still here… and I’ll be back.

October: I fought burn out as I started training for my second half marathon in November, one I had signed up for because it’s a race Greg has run multiple times and I really wanted to run it too.  How fun to participate instead of spectate for the first time!  Still, the emotional and physical drain of trying to schedule and complete my long runs, often returning after it got dark, made training tough.  I started learning how to use twitter, and fell in love with the #runchat and #vegrunchat communities.

Just before Halloween, I was inspired by @forkstofeet, a new friend on twitter, to watch the documentary Forks Over Knives.   I was amazed.  I did some more research on the negative impact of eating animal products on our health, environment, and animal welfare.  The evidence was incredible; we shouldn’t be eating meat or dairy.  I started transitioning our family to a whole foods, plant-based diet.

November: I ran my second half marathon, which was the best race of my life.  I also ran a 5k in my hometown and came in with a PR despite being sick.  My months of running were starting to have a positive impact on my running performance.  Could I credit switching to a healthier eating lifestyle, too?  I never felt sick after eating anymore, and I could have sworn my energy was increasing.  Either way, I felt really good about making the switch.

My blog post  “Dear Chad Stafko: Ok, We’re Happy To Be Runners, Get Over It” went viral, getting thousands of hits an hour and becoming one of the top google search results for “Chad Stafko”.  Slate.fr translated a quotation from my post into French, and I started planning what I would wear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  While I didn’t get onto The Daily Show, it felt pretty amazing that my defense of running (and being happy about it)  reached so many people.

December: I took it easy.  With Christmas planning, traveling, Greg away on business, a cold to recover from, etc., I averaged 10 and 12 miles two weeks out of the month, and 3 miles the other two.  A year ago, this would have freaked me out.  Now, it makes me excited to see what I can do in January with a little extra rest in my legs.  I am not in danger of becoming a non-runner.  My time off keeps me from burning out, and makes me more excited to get back to my running, my intervals, my long runs, and a fantastic spring and rest of the New Year.

2013 was pretty impressive… what will 2014 hold?  A 30 mile week?  3 Half Marathons?  1 Half Marathon, but faster?  Tomorrow I will start out 2014 the way I started 2013, with a local 5k and a post about my New Year’s goals.  I’m so excited to be back here… reflecting about a good year of running, and looking forward to what I can do next year.

When I look back at the changes I’ve made this year, I feel a little overwhelmed.  How can next year compete?  Luckily, it doesn’t have to.  My goal is to keep living my best running life, and that may mean sticking to what’s working rather than trying to keep doubling or tripling my progress.  I definitely want to improve, but it’s hard to beat going from never having run more than 4 miles to running two half marathons in one year.  Whatever I decide to try for in 2014, I know there will be running, and healthy eating, and many more miles to come.

Happy New Year, Happy Running, and just think… where could you be in a year?