January - I kicked off the year by going down to Disney and running in the Dopey Challenge. I survived running a 5k, 10k, half marathon, and full marathon in that order. My time for the full wasn't even awful. This was a great confidence builder for the year to come.
February - I spent all month running like crazy on the treadmill. I was doing 50 mile weeks. I even had a short span where I was eating clean. I was feeling confident for an upcoming PR attempt at the marathon.
March - On the first day of the month I ran in the Little Rock Marathon. This was not supposed to be my PR attempt, but to date it has been my fastest marathon. I did everything wrong for this race - no taper, 11 hour drive, ate like crap, ran a hilly course, but it all worked out in the end. I took the new found confidence in speed into my next few races only to flame out in the 2nd half. I also ran Circular Logic in March, which was supposed to be the actual PR attempt and found myself way ahead of PR pace halfway in before flaming out in the 2nd half. Not bad for being only 4 weeks after the actual PR. I then ran Shamrock Shuffle the next day and didn't completely suck so that's a bonus.
April - The month was a bit of a struggle fest as I tried to recover from the dual marathons of March and shifted gears and attempted to break 20 minutes in the 5K. I ran the Good for Life Race and Ravenswood 5k getting times in the 20:XX range for both of them which were both PRs, but not that glorious sub 20 I had hoped for.
May - I originally planned to run the full in Wisconsin, but stuck to the half and was glad I did on a warm day. Stomach cramps kept me from running my best, but I still set a new half PR with the fitness gained from the crazy marathoning. Memorial Day weekend saw a fun trip to Traverse City for the spectacular Bayshore Marathon followed by lots of breweries and passing out early. Oh and then I closed on a condo and moved in.
June - Ragnar happened again. I was in a van full of girls again. I also kicked off goal marathon training having picked out Twin Cities as my fall goal race.
July - I did or didn't break 20 min at Strike Out ALS 5K depending on who you ask. The official results have me at 20:00 even, but my own watch which I thought I stopped a bit after the finish line had me at 19:59.9. I also headed to Colorado and ran the gorgeous Aspen Valley Marathon. The altitude was a little rough at the start, but I found myself doing pretty well for a flat lander.
August - The month of struggles. I had to deal with re-building after a hamstring strain likely caused by compensating for sore quads that were beat up by running downhill in Aspen. I also went to Lollapalooza for the first time ever and saw Paul McCartney for the 2nd time. I also saw the Foo Fighters at Wrigley which was amazing.
September - I was back on track for the most part and set a huge new PR in the Lung Run 10K. It was a windy day on a crowded lakefront course so there's likely improvements still to be had. I did 2 5Ks and the 10K in an 8 day window and wound up getting sick, uh oh.
October - The craziness begins. I was still reeling from being sick and didn't do well in Twin Cities. It didn't help that I also twisted my ankle early in the race. Somehow I managed to heal pretty quickly and still ran my first ever 50 miler at the DPRT just 2 weeks later. If I thought my first marathon was tough, oof, the first 50 miler beat me up.
November - The month kicked off with the Milwaukee Running Festival marathon and my legs were just not ready for the hills. I started off well enough, but struggled into the finish. Just 2 weeks later and I was in Vegas running in the wind and rain - wut? Another struggle fest, but followed by lots of fun. I managed to get sick in time to run Route 66 the following weekend. I didn't run my worst time ever which is always a bonus.
December - I've been racking up miles on the treadmill, slowly rebuilding and trying to get enough mileage in to hit that 2K mark. Just one last 3 mile run on New Years Eve and I'll be there.
All in all 2015 was a pretty epic year. Hopefully 2016 is just as good or better. I've already registered for a number of marathons, though not as many as this year. I learned some lessons and limitations of what I'm able to do. Here's to staying injury free and crossing off more states!
October - The craziness begins. I was still reeling from being sick and didn't do well in Twin Cities. It didn't help that I also twisted my ankle early in the race. Somehow I managed to heal pretty quickly and still ran my first ever 50 miler at the DPRT just 2 weeks later. If I thought my first marathon was tough, oof, the first 50 miler beat me up.
November - The month kicked off with the Milwaukee Running Festival marathon and my legs were just not ready for the hills. I started off well enough, but struggled into the finish. Just 2 weeks later and I was in Vegas running in the wind and rain - wut? Another struggle fest, but followed by lots of fun. I managed to get sick in time to run Route 66 the following weekend. I didn't run my worst time ever which is always a bonus.
December - I've been racking up miles on the treadmill, slowly rebuilding and trying to get enough mileage in to hit that 2K mark. Just one last 3 mile run on New Years Eve and I'll be there.
All in all 2015 was a pretty epic year. Hopefully 2016 is just as good or better. I've already registered for a number of marathons, though not as many as this year. I learned some lessons and limitations of what I'm able to do. Here's to staying injury free and crossing off more states!
My hubby got me Exploding Kittens for my birthday and I'm so sad he didn't get the NSFW edition. You had a killer year, Eric. I hope 2016 is even better. Get that BQ! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an insane year for you!! You did amazing!
ReplyDeleteNice year! You are a madman!
ReplyDeleteLOL the selfie from Paris...
ReplyDelete