Happy new year! I am quite excited for 2013. I think it will be one of the better years for healthy living although I'm not yet sure what the year will bring as far as running, triathlon and races are concerned. (More on that later.) I have just finished reading Amby Burfoot's article in the November issue of RW about how to be a lifelong runner. In it, he comments that a nice goal is to average around 1,000 miles a year. It got me curious about how many miles I logged this year. In 2012, my Garmin log shows 688.29 miles. I know there are definitely some miles not captured so I think it is safe to say that I logged at least 700 miles in 2012. Not bad. But, in 2011 I logged 1,659.54 miles! I guess a year with only one marathon as opposed to two, and a pregnancy, accounts for the drop in mileage. Overall, I'm very happy with my 2012 running year.I spent the first part of the year just trying to stay fit and continue running during the last trimester plus of pregnancy. I feel like I bounced back pretty quickly to regular running routines and though my race calendar was light, I spent a lot of important time rebuilding my base. I knew well before 2012 even started that the October Baltimore Half Marathon would be my race of the year. I surprised myself with tacking the Rehoboth Beach Marathon on to the schedule as well and am definitely pleased with that December race.
Running definitely helped me survive the holidays (for the most part!) and has definitely helped me survive the mental challenges of parenting as well as the never-ending challenge of finding a work-life balance. Even on the worst of days, I am better if I have run.
2013 Running Resolutions
The reason I'm excited for 2013 is because I'm trying to think of it as a true fresh start. Today my husband and I started the Whole30 program. 30 days of extremely healthful eating that will hopefully trigger a lifelong change. This will be a good challenge for us but for different reasons. We'll both miss our drinks–wine, good IPAs. And we'll miss carbs. I will also miss my sweets. I love dessert. But I know that I do not need dessert. The first day has gone well and I've discovered a whole crew on Twitter also doing #whole30 so I imagine there will be some great support and recipes shared.
As far as running–the only race currently on my calendar is the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, SC. I would like to do the Annapolis 10-miler this year, having missed it in 2012 due to a wedding (good reason!) and the previous year due to a hurricane that caused the race to be cancelled. I'd like to do the Annapolis Striders Championship Series. I'd like to do 1-2 half marathons. I would like to do a couple sprint triathlons. I phrase all of this in the 'would like to' language because my husband and I know we would like to have a second baby sooner rather than later. This puts my whole running calendar on 'hold' simply because I do not know what it will make sense to plan to run. And so, I think of this year as a clean slate.
In 2013, I plan to run healthy. I plan to become stronger. I would like to work more on strength and stretching. I would like to cross train a little more. In 2013, I would like to get to run 1,000 annual miles.
What are your 2013 running resolutions?
Ps. I can't get my hyperlinking to work for some reason, so here are links to some of the things mentioned above:
Amby Burfoot's November RW article: http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/amby-burfoots-simple-secrets-lifetime-running
Base Building After Baby: http://healthandrunning.com/running/base-building-after-baby
Whole30 Program: http://whole9life.com/2012/08/the-whole30-program/