Happy New Year to all! I am spending New Year’s Eve in bed by myself. Don’t feel bad, though. Y’all know I am quite fine hanging out my myself (although, yes, I’d rather be out with my friends celebrating).
If it were just me I was concerned about, I would have met everyone out for dinner, but I don’t want to risk getting any of my friends sick, especially since one of them is pregnant, so I decided the smartest thing to do was stay in. I made Dean still go out and celebrate with all of them, though. I didn’t want to ruin his fun for the night.
So since I’m hanging out here on NYE, it seems like the perfect time to reflect on 2012. I will do my best to keep the review part short, because I actually often find these types of posts somewhat annoying and hard to write without sounding full of yourself, but like every other blogger, here it goes:
The obligatory 2012 review:
-After a mostly crappy 2010-2011 running season, I finally started to have some decent races:
CIM 2011 (ok, not technically 2012, but close enough): 3:25
Flying Pigs Marathon 2012: 3:26
CIM 2012: 3:25
Seeing Dean along the spectators at the Flying Pig Marathon.
-Had a wonderful family trip to California last May.
-After over a year of non-stop sinus infections, I finally had sinus surgery.
Dean hugging me before surgery
My cool look after the surgery.
A CT image of my sinuses during surgery that my surgeon sent me. I had what’s called allergic fungal sinusitis. Gross, eh?
-Lowlight: plantar fasciitis and my work schedule set me back months from running…about 5 months with no consistent running.
-I figured out what I’m doing with the rest of my life: got accepted into the Breast Imaging Fellowship at Northwestern.
-Ran in the rainiest marathon conditions ever at CIM.
What’s ahead for 2013??
-March-April: I will be in Washington DC for a course required for my residency program.
-May: Dean and I are getting married. I don’t get a full week off after the wedding, so we’re going to save our “real” honeymoon until the following year.
-September-October: My dreaded radiology boards.
Running Goals:
Not many for 2013. This is not the year for me to be focusing on racing with my wedding coming up and then my boards. Both will will require a lot of time on my part and will be my priorities. I will continue to run regularly, but more for my own sanity and to stay in shape rather than to PR at a given race. I do really want to put the time and effort into training for a marathon with the intent to PR and run under 3:15. I think that race will be in the spring of 2014. I will be done with my boards in the beginning of October and will then have no big commitments. I will thus have time to focus on running and follow one of the 18 week training program laid out in Advanced Marathoning, and hopefully see what I am capable of if I actually run more than 30-40 miles a week and train properly.
I am still signed up for the Mardis Gras Marathon in New Orleans this February. I have mixed feelings about this race. I was really pumped up for it when I was still riding my high from CIM, but as my schedule and other commitments are starting to pick up again, I’m feeling less excited and more stressed about it. Running is my hobby and outlet for me….I don’t need any more stressors in my life! Maybe it’s just because I am sick and can’t even think of running right now.
I really want to go to New Orleans, though, so I think I will make it happen, but again, with no time goals….I will save that for Spring 2014! I know I keep playing these marathons by ear, but that’s what I sorta have to do right now in residency, as there are too many other priorities. Yes, it is sorta a self-protecting mechanism. Running a marathon without a time goal motivates me to run and still try to improve myself to some degree, but doesn’t add the extra stress of having to train “perfectly” and doing everything I can to run it in a given time. I will be happy to take that pressure on next year after boards, though!
Btw, I HIGHLY recommend Advanced Marathoning. Best book I’ve read so far on running. I downloaded it onto my IPad Christmas Day and read through most of it in about 2 days.
Happy New Years to you also!! Love love love Advanced Marathoning. I used the 12 week/55 mile plan for my fall marathon and ran a 3:12…. and it felt easy (I am definitely not saying that to boast, but only to express how much I love the book and training plans!). The plan really prepared me well for the race. And, I loved that it focuses on long runs and tempo runs (and not track workouts).
Hope you feel better soon!
Awesome time! Hearing how that training plan worked for you makes me so excited to start using it! And yes, I like how it focuses on long runs and tempo runs rather than track workouts, which I have never thought to be that beneficial for marathon-length races.
your marathon times just FLOOR me. wowwwwwwee!!
Beautiful ring!!
Ah, thanks : ) Dean did well with the ring : )
I always enjoy reading your blog and the perspective you have on running in your life.Other obligations hold me back on running too. Happy New Year to you and Dean.
Sorry you had to stay in on NYE. Hope you feel better soon!
Sounds like you will have a pretty exciting 2013! Good luck on the wedding planning and the boards!!
Happy New Year! I’ve been using Advanced Marathoning for the Goofy Challenge and I love it. I’m using the 55 mile plan and even though its not the many more miles than I would usually run, I feel like a better and stronger runner. It’s definitely worth trying.