2013 in Review

While technically not my best year of the 5 years I've been running, there were a lot of positives to take away in 2013, along with some negatives. I believe looking back on the year will give me a good start on 2014.

Racing: I ran 6 races in 2013, down from 9 in 2012. I just wasn't motivated enough to sign up for as many races as I used to. I did set 4 PR's, all in my final 4 races on my schedule (see the sidebar for my results). I was most pleased with the 1:28:15 I ran at the Army Ten Miler in October. I never thought I had it in me to run that fast (relatively, for me) for that far of a distance.

Training: Not my best training year, either. I logged 1,333 miles this year, down from 1,500 last year. That's still an average of 111 miles per month, but I ran much longer distances last year while training for Marine Corps Marathon. Advice from some trusted running coaches determined that I was running some of my "easy" runs too far in marathon training last year. Couple that with the fact that I didn't do as many 18+ mile runs in 2013, and it explains my mileage drop.

Injury: I stayed relatively injury-free this year, save for a few bouts of severe calf cramping (of which at one point I suspected could have been an Achilles issue). I attribute this to a combination of better hydration, better form, and not overtraining and staying withiin my plan.

Looking to 2014: As it stands right now, I'm going to again focus on 6-7 races in 2014. Looking at a couple of 10-Milers and a couple of half marathons, with some shorter races (8-10K)thrown in. I'd like to get my 5K time under 25 minutes (25:03 PR), my 10K time under 52 minutes (52:35 PR), and my half-marathon pace to under a 9:00/mile (currently my best is 9:05).

Training-wise, I'd like to average about 30 miles per week, which would give me over 1,500 miles for the year. But I don't want to throw miles in just to reach a number - I'd like to make those miles all mean something, and by that I mean more speedwork.

Also, I'll be taking the RRCA Coaching Certification course in 2 weeks - hopefully this can help me improve myself in areas where I am lacking.

I've come a long way in the 5+ years I've been running, and as I approach age 50, I'd like to keep improving - because pretty soon, age is gonna slow me down. But I want to keep enjoying feet hitting asphalt 4-5 days a week, and meeting great running peeps along the way.

Happy New Year!!