Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 running

Maggie posted this on her blog and I loved it so I'm copying:

1.  Best race experience:  I haven't actually run that many races, but this is an easy answer.  My half marathon.  It was my first long distance race, the first distance that seemed out of reach, and the first race I ever trained for.  I had such an incredible experience, felt absolutely great the entire time, and finished in 2:04.  Not too shabby.

2. Best run: My fourteen mile training run.  I destroyed it.  I felt like a power house the entire time, running mostly in the rain, through the park, down Park Avenue for summer streets, through the financial district, and up the West Side Highway.  I finished the half marathon distance in under two hours, and ran two extra miles (only needed to run 12 that day.)  I felt like a complete machine who could do anything.  I couldn't help but tell myself over and over in my head, "You are a bad ass!"  This was also my last long distance I ran without any knee pain.  It likely pushed me from dealing with a little injury I didn't really notice, to chronic pain because I ran way way too fast than I should have.  I just had never experienced being able to run that fast before, and didn't want to stop.  Lesson definitely learned.

3. Best new piece of gear: Spi belt

4. Best piece of running advice you received: Walk through every water station and have a few sips.  Walk, don't run.  (From my bishop for my half marathon.)

5. Most inspirational runner(s): Dina, Val, the handicapped runners I frequently see in the park whose names I don't know, and anyone who has kids and trains for races.

6. If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be: surprising, rewarding, and quick.

7. Most exciting running moment of 2012: I can't pick just one.  Crossing the finish line of my first half, destroying that 14 mile run, running the Central Park loop for the first time without having to walk, officially making the decision to run the marathon.

I'd love to hear what you other runners have to say.

2 comments:

maggie said...

Congrats on a good year of running! I'd love to do a 2:04 half, way to go!

Catherine Fishback said...

Congrats to you! YOU'RE the inspiration! I would love to run a marathon, but anytime I run more than a mile, my knee gives me the worst pain ever. Still not sure exactly what it is (runner's knee, i think?) but I've kind of come to the consensus that I probably will never run a marathon. So be grateful that you can!!

Anyway, thanks for your comment about the no-shopping challenge. It really is refreshing and rewarding and you should totally do it! You have my support. ;)

XO,
Catherine