2016 has been pretty amazing, and I can only hope that 2017 can top it! I hope you all enjoy a look back at my 2016!
They say whatever you do on January 1st is what you will be doing the rest of the year. Well, I started off by running the Resolution Run 4 Miler and PR'ed (spoiler: a lot of races and more PRs happened along the way in 2016). I also successfully trained for and planned running my 3rd full marathon...the best part was that no one knew I was doing so. Yep, my best kept secret of 2016 was the WDW Marathon, folks. With a few other races thrown in the mix, I ended the month strong by running my 50th half marathon and officially 1/2 way to the 100 Half Marathon Club!
February felt like a whirlwind for sure. I started off with a 10K PR at the Tartan Trot 10K. Next, Becky and I headed to Alabama to earn some sweet bling at the Mercedes 1/2 Marathon and 5K. Before I knew it, Princess Half Marathon weekend 2016 was here and I ran 22.4 magical miles over the weekend (5K, 10K, and 1/2 Marathon). Even after spending 10 hours in the car traveling home from Disney, I ended the month with 5K and yet another PR (with only a few hours of sleep).
March started with a bang - literally. I was in a pretty nasty car wreck that totaled my car less than 36 hours before my #PRorER 10K attempt. I possibly had a cracked rib, but refused to go to the doctor and be told 'no running' (dumb mistake, but you live and learn). I am not sure exactly how it happened but I totally shattered my 10K PR. I honestly think that I was just in so much pain that I wanted it over faster. I took my pace down for the next few races to try to let my body heal a bit, but I took full advantage of getting to run with friends and making memories during this period.
I felt like April pretty much flew by! Well, it kind of did (literally). A trip to Raleigh for the Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh 5K and 1/2 Marathon started off the month while a trip to Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh 5K & 1/2 Marathon wrapped it up. I learned a bit about myself in April including how much fun going solo on a racecation can in fact be when you meet up with other bloggers over the weekend, the importance of keeping my blood sugar level up on long runs, and the impact that you can have on young runners. Oh, how can I even forget the 45 second 5K PR that I through down in Pittsburgh with my sweet friend Susan pacing me along the way.
The summer sun and heat came in wicked fast once May hit! Ugh. Time to slow down my pace a bit until fall I guess, but not without one last 5K PR. I kicked off May at the Pittsburgh 1/2 Marathon then my mileage got dialed down a bit. Due to summer conditions, a lot of local races in Atlanta are mainly 5K with occasional 10K and half marathons until fall.
Then there is June. June was a wonderful month. The month was full of awesome races that we favorites of past years along with some new ones. I must say, I have a whole new appreciate for freeze pops at finish lines after the past few weeks! I have never ran a half marathon in June, but that changed this year when Hotlanta Half Marathon moved from August to June. Yes, it lived up to its name, but my friend Chris and I still had a blast running it together.
July really lived up to the name "Hotlanta" in Atlanta - what a scorcher! I kicked off July with an amazing 6.2 mile party down Peachtree at the Peachtree Road Race. Next up was a local 5K in Kennesaw before heading to Chicago for Rock n Roll 5K and Half Marathon (which was a nice break from the heat and humidity in Atlanta). The month of July wrapped up with a few other local races near and dear to my heart.
Hey there, August! While my 5K PR attempt did not go quite as planned in August, it was still a great (yet hot and humid month). I was quite thankful for the support of my friends this month especially. I ran back-to-back races in the same day which included a 5K in the morning followed up by a night time half marathon. This takes a toll on me each year, but man is it a great feeling of accomplishment once that second finish line is crossed!
My trip to Disneyland for the 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon, was both magical and not so magical. I got to run as a guide with Cigna and Achilles International with two fabulous ladies - Debbie and Natalie. Getting them to the finish line was absolutely amazing and an unforgettable experience. Things got a little "not so magical" during the 10K when my knee got jammed by someone who dead-stopped right in front of me at mile 3. After slowly making my way to the finish line that day, I was unsure if the 13.1 miles the next day would happen. Pixie Dust was definetly on my side and I made it along side Momma K. #KneeGate2016 loomed the rest of the month, but with taking it easy and being conservative, I made everything happen that needed to happen.
Come early October, my knee pain was virtually gone! Thank goodness because I had a lot on tap! The first racecation was to St. Louis for the Rock n Roll Half Marathon. What a beautiful and awesome city St. Louis is! I wish I could have spent more time there, but I had more travels on tap. Next up, Momma K and I completed what we called #ZOOMAtoATL where we drove 6 hours to Amelia Island, spent the night, ran the ZOOMA half marathon (12K for Momma K), drove back 6 hours to sleep and then run the Atlanta 10 Miler. I learned how important active recovery is that weekend - sitting in the car for several hours then running a 10 miler is not the wisest plan after a half marathon.
November was definetly the busiest month of 2017. With back-to-back travel weekends including a 4 hour drive to Savannah with 3 races for Rock n Roll Savannah to heading to Rock n Roll Vegas just 4 days later, it was a little crazy but SO MUCH FUN!
December was a test of my stress level for sure. First, I dealt with an open-course situation at the Rome Half Marathon which was a tough on mentally. Next, we headed to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg just days after the devestating fires occured. The final bit of December chaos came when my trip to Indianapolis for the Santa Hustle suddenly got canceled due to Winter Storm Decima hitting the area. Hey, you can control a lot of things, but weather is not one of them. Of course I still ended up running a race that weekend, just not in Indiapolis which took me to the Atlanta Christmas 5K. The year wrapped up with a last minute 5K on New Year's Eve which was race 69 of the year. Not too shabby of a year.