2011 Racing Recap

I ended 2011 on a frustrating note.  I've now taken a full week off running for the first time in I can't even remember how long, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to start up again.  This also means that I missed my goal of 1000 miles in 2011 by about 15.  I've had pretty bad pain in my left shin/knee since right after the Winter Classic 5K on December 11.  It hurts when I straighten my leg, run, walk quickly, go up/down stairs, or touch/kneel on the sore area.  I'm afraid I partially tore my patellar tendon during that 5K, or somehow rapidly developed patellar tendonitis.  I'm sort of in a holding pattern for the moment, until I get back to school where I can see an orthopedist to get a real diagnosis (not that I don't trust family/friends/acquaintances/dr internet).  I don't have access to a lot of cross-training equipment at home, and I'm not really sure what I can do without aggravating the injury.

To cheer myself up, and avoid thinking about whether I'll be able to continue training for the Rock 'n' Roll D.C. marathon in March, I've decided to look back at what a big year 2011 was for me as a runner.

February: Disney's Princess Half Marathon (2:21:00)

Source 

My first half marathon!  My goal was to finish under 2:24 (11 minute pace) and I did.  I also had a super fun weekend in Disney World with two of my favorite runner girls.

March: NYC Half Marathon (2:17:35)

I loved running through the empty streets of Manhattan, and was really happy to run the entire race, only walking through water stations, and finish under 2:20

June: North Shore Half Marathon (2:27:16)

Mom's first half marathon!  The course was beautiful and I had a great time pacing my mom through the race.  She only almost disowned me once, but then I let her beat me by one second so all was forgiven.

August: Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon (2:06:50)

Thanks, Katie, for realizing that this was a great photo op

This was the best race I've ever run.  I was halfway through marathon training and feeling confident about how much my running had improved, but still wasn't sure what to expect from this race since I didn't taper much.  I really surprised myself and I ran my first sub-60 10K on my way to crushing March's half PR by over ten minutes.

September: Tavern to Tavern 5K (27:40 unofficial net time)

This was a last minute addition to the schedule.  I set a 5K PR two days after my first ever 18 mile training run, and possibly derailed the rest of my marathon training in the process.

October: Chicago Marathon (5:28:01)

My first marathon!  By far my biggest accomplishment of the year, even if it wasn't anywhere near the time I'd hoped for.

Memphis Soul 5K (32:05)

No, I did not intentionally sign up for a 5K one week after my first marathon.  The race was supposed to be in early September, but was rescheduled due to a Hurricane Irene induced state of emergency.  I wasn't going to miss out on free post-race bbq!  Although I did have to swear to several people that my time would be over thirty minutes.

December: Winter Classic 5K (28:54 unofficial net time)

Another late addition to the schedule.  I started the morning with a 9 mile long run and then tacked on the 5K at the end.  My goal was to sub-30 on dead legs, and I did.  And possibly screwed up my leg in the process.  Anyone noticing a theme here?

Somerville Jingle Bell Run 5K (28:52)

This is the one race I actually wrote up a full race recap for.  You can find it here.  Short version of the story is that my plan was to go out hard and see how long I could hang on.  The answer was approximately 1.6 miles.

So, that's my 2011 racing recap.  All in all, not a bad year, if I do say so myself.  I'll be back tomorrow with my goals for an even more awesome 2012.  Happy New Year!