2012 Running Year in Review

With my final race of 2012 in the books on December 31st, I thought a recap of my year of running was due.

As I only started this blog in October of 2012, the majority of my running this year was not captured anywhere. Hopefully this recap does it justice.

A very foggy St. Patrick’s Day 10km race

2012 Goals

On this blog, I had two goals listed for 2012. I decided at the beginning of the year that training for any long distances was not in the cards for me in 2012, so I settled on shorter races and tried my best to work towards these two goals:

1. Average one race per month

2. PR in 5km and 10km

Having only really decided on these goals in February after my first race of the year, I missed out on running a January race so I had to make up for it at some other point throughout the year. I am happy to say I was successful in both of these goals! I ran a total of 13 races in 2012, one every month, and two in both September and October, and set new PR’s in the 5km, 8km, and 10km – every race distance I ran this year!

I had a third running goal that I had not put up on the blog – potentially for fear that I could not do it. I told a few people about it, but didn’t go fully public (i.e. on the blog) with it.

Not to leave you hanging, this third running goal of the year was to win my age group prize at a small, local running series called Somersault Run Series, in their Champions Challenge event.

I knew I had a shot at it if I ran my best and entered the correct number of races in 2012 – not many other runners in my age group even qualified for it (you had to enter a minimum number of races).

To my delight, I found in October after the Ottawa Fall Colours 10km that I had won my age group and was invited to an Awards Banquet the following month. The banquet itself was nice, but I was most pleased with the accomplishment of working at and completing this elusive third goal.

Stats from my 2012 running year:

• Number of 5km races: 8 
• Number of 8km races: 1
• Number of 10km races: 4
• New 5km PR: 22:32
• New 8km PR: 37:09
• New 10km PR: 48:06
• Number of kilometers total: Over 1000

Running in Transit:

I didn’t do as much travel this year as I have in past years, but I was still fortunate enough to get some travel in. I was lucky to also be able to find time to run on the road whenever possible – here are some of the places I was able to “run in transit”.

• San Francisco, California – A run along the water  from the Embarcadero, through Fisherman’s Wharf and on into the Marina (February).
• Edmonton, Alberta – Snuck in a run on a business trip and took in some of the Edmonton sites (March).
• Toronto, Ontario – Amazing 10km run along the city’s lakeshore (April).
• Montreal, Quebec – A sunny, fall run through gorgeous Mount Royal (November).
• London, Ontario – The 5km Resolution Run on New Years Eve in a foot of snow (December).

2012 Running Q&As:

A lot of other bloggers out there have recapped their year this way and so I thought I would join in as well by answering a few questions to show the highlights of my running year:

What was your favorite run of the year?

I had so many amazing runs this year that it was hard to choose. I have narrowed it down to two runs that I would have to name as my favorites:

1) While on vacation in San Francisco in February, I completed an amazing morning run through some picturesque parts of the city. My recap of that run is here. I loved the water front pathway, the amazing views of the city and the Golden Gate bridge and the perfect running weather!

2) Although I wasn’t training for any longer races this year, I still enjoyed getting out for some long runs on weekends. One late summer day, I had an 16km run scheduled and decided to drive to a spot along the scenic Ottawa River and hop on a trail by the water that would bring me all the way into downtown Ottawa. Along the way, I hit some construction and a small detour. The detour turned into a much bigger one that I expected but I was enjoying the gorgeous views so didn’t mind.

Once I looped back towards where my car was parked, I realized I would be doing more than 16km; it would actually be closer to 19-20km. With the wind at my back, I was feeling great so I decided right then and there that I was going to extend the run even further and officially make it a half marathon…what’s an extra kilometer or two once I have already done 19 or 20, right?!

And that is just what I did. I could not have been more pleased with my running that day. Even though I didn’t complete any half-marathons or marathons in 2012, I am proud I can still say I ran 21.1km once this year!

What was your favorite race of the year/best race experience?

My favorite race was the Bay Breeze 5km in San Leandro, California – it wasn’t my fastest 5km of the year, but it was my best race experience. It was a destination race for me, albeit only a short race. When my husband and I decided to go to San Francisco for a week’s vacation, I immediately looked up races in the general area and settled on this one.

It was put on by Brazen Racing, who did a fantastic job with everything. I hadn’t raced a 5km race in years so didn’t have any expectations of myself. The weather was perfect for running and for my first race of the year, and my first race since 2010, I gave it all I had.

To my surprise, I finished in 23:05, which was good enough for 2nd in my age group (and a nifty silver medal!)

Also, this race had by far the best looking participant’s medal!

What has been your biggest inspiration in 2012?

2012 is the year I really got into reading, following and eventually writing a running blog, and I would have to say that this has been my biggest inspiration. The virtual running community accessible through social media, be it blogs, twitter or Daily Mile motivates me each and every day to stay active and to push myself to be a better runner.

Best running advice I’ve received in 2012?

I can’t say I have received a lot of running advice this year, but one thing that has certainly stuck with me, sort of as a piece of advice, is Saucony’s slogan “Find Your Strong”. I used it more as a mantra in 2012, and I know it has helped me push through some tough runs this year.

My “Find Your Strong” reminder right in front of my treadmill

What was your favorite piece of new running gear in 2012?

Hands-down, my Garmin Forerunner 405CX is my favorite piece of new running gear this year. I got it in January 2012 and I have barely taken it off since.

I love being able to see my pace, time and distance as I run, all in one glance. It has helped me in training and during races, and the post-workout analysis that is available online is a great tool. I don’t know how I ever ran without it!

2012 Running Photos:

FEBRUARY – Bay Breeze 5km in San Leandro, California

MARCH – Decked out in green for St. Patrick’s Day 10km race

APRIL – 10km PR Race – The Bear Run (48:06)

MAY – After the Mother’s Day 10km Race with some prize winnings

JUNE – Leading the pack (not really…there are still another 60 runners ahead of me in the Emilie’s Run 5km but this is my favorite photo of the year)

JULY – Canada Day 5km PR race (22:31) – my friend set a PR of her own too!

AUGUST – Hottest race of the year at the National Capital 5km!

SEPTEMBER – My sprint to the finish at the Canadian 8km

OCTOBER – Rattle Me Bones 5km Race

NOVEMBER – The run that I got Girl Guide Cookies at the finish line!

DECEMBER – Last race of the year – the Resolution Run!

Stay tuned for my 2013 Running Goals – to be revealed in my next post.

M.