not too shabby....

It turns out that 2012 was dominated by running (a new to me sport).   And it seems fitting as I turned 50 last year.  Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks, eh?

Shockingly to me - running became my sport of choice (over mtn biking) and I ended up having a amazing year.

Running Races:

NOTE: even tho i am a new runner - i wasn't "off-the-couch".  My 9+ years of endurance mtn biking/racing in the Colorado backcountry & Utah provided me with the experience, fitness and mental toughness to ease my transition into running.   I started this sport and had decent results...but those results were 9+ years in the making!

I raced 15 races at various distances.

I was top 3 in AG in my first 4(!) races. (2 -1st place, 2 - 3rd place)

Top 3 in AG in 9 out of the 15 races and typically in the top 20% in gender.

Sadly, I didn't make my sub 2 hour goal on my first half marathon (2:01:38), but I did make it on my 2nd attempt - The Brooklyn Half (1:57:18)

Raced 5 road half marathons -all but the first one were sub 2 hours.

Raced 2 trail half marathons - results mixed (11th out of 34 in one and 2nd out of 18 in another)

In summary - i love racing.  I raced 5ks, half marathons, trail 10k, trail 5k and I love them all.  Tho i will admit to loving the trail (esp the downhills) a bit more than the road races.

Friends

Wow - this was an unexpected bonus.  I met and became friends with several awesome people (Terzah, Kathy, Jill to name a few).   This was definitely a highlight to mesh with people that have the same passion that you do.  And yes - I met them the way i typically meet people - through the internet!

I have 2 out of state races planned this year with these outstanding young ladies.  score!

me, Kathy, Terzah

And interestingly enough - I became running friends with the wife of one of my favorite mtn bike friends.  I ended up hanging out with her more than I did him this year.  the irony!

And poor me - Terzah an I got our picture taken with this guy. :)

me, Scott Jurek, Terzah

Family

The other big event in 2012 was the fact that Dave finally gave up his 5 year hobby of brewing and drinking beer to start running.  As a new runner, for some reason he decided  to tackle a 50 mile trail ultra.   I focused my summer on helping him reach his goal by cooking, being support for his long trail runs and helping him dial in his nutrition.  It all paid off bigtime when he completed his 50 miler on Sept 30, 2012.   

It was my proudest moment all year long.

Dave crossing the finish line of the Bear Chase 50 mile trail ultra

Looking ahead to 2013

This will also be a year of running.

Dave is thinking about racing the 50 mile Bear Chase again...

And as for me....I signed up for my first marathon yesterday.  The Eugene Marathon.  We'll see how it goes....