2016 Year in Review

It's been a busy year for this gal. Not only did I have a PR in terms of monthly mileage (several times), but I also set a new PR in terms of yearly mileage as well. Currently (as of Monday, December 26th), I'm at 956 for yearly miles! I expect I will come close to topping 970 in the final days of 2016..stay tuned.



What all went down? Here's a brief synopsis:
5 - 5K's
2 -10K's
3 - 8K/5-milers (one was on a trail)
6 Half Marathons
1 Marathon
1 12-hour Ultra
1 OCR event

All of my event bibs from 2016

Here's a month-by-month breakdown:

January
My first race of 2016 happened on New Year's Day in Huntington Beach,CA at the Run in the New Year 5K. I met up with a Facebook friend, Kristina (and her friend, Stephanie) and we ran, chatted, and laughed our way towards AG awards for all three of us!

New Years Day with Kristina

February
The only race this month was the Red Flannel Run (Recap) ...the temps were very cold and there was a lot of wind. The thing is, we were in downtown Des Moines, and many of the tall buildings blocked the majority of the wind. The problem? I was all layered up, expecting much colder "feels like" temps...and I was very much over-dressed for five miles. Oops.

March
In early March, the husband and I traveled to Fort Pierce, FL to support our son (and his swim team) at the NJCAA finals. While there, the husband and I ran the  Race the Runway 10K (Recap)...an actual race on an airport runway!

How many finish lines are surrounded by airplanes?

A week later, we also ran the Leprechaun Chase, a 10K in Des Moines (Recap).

With Eric, the hubby, Barb, (myself) and Dave

April
The Live Healthy Iowa 5K took place in my hometown.I didn't get a PR, but I managed a first place age group finish (in a relatively small field of racers).

The next day was my fourth time taking it to the stairs at the Fight for Air Climb (Des Moines). This event is a huge fundraiser for the American Lung Association, and this year the Des Moines venue had four buildings to climb...for a total of 86 flights of stairs (Recap)!

May
My first half marathon of 2016 happened on May 1st in Iowa City. The Red Shoe Run (Recap) was a new-to-me event, and the course was very hilly. The temps were cool and damp, but (thankfully) the forecast rain held off until after we finished. Low and behold, after a two year plateau, I was able to claim a sub-2 hour finish time!

June
Every year, my favorite race is Dam to Dam (another Des Moines half marathon). This was my ninth time running it (Recap). In the week leading up to the start lilne, I had a mild flare up of Plantar Fasciitis, so I gave my foot plenty of TLC and downtime. We had near-perfect weather, I made it through most of the race unscathed, though the final couple miles were a little uncomfortable.

With the hubby (his 5th D2D)

A week later, my hometown hosted the Grinnell Games, an entire weekend featuring numerous events for individuals and families. I ran the half marathon (Recap) and my PF was still a factor. Though not debilitating, it did cause me some discomfort in the final miles as well.  Fortunately, I was not going for a fast finish (or even a PR), but wanted to support the event. It turns out, the course was changed this year, and had a couple of extra hills...so my finish time was an automatic PR (I'll take it!).

It's not everyday your bib number matches your distance

July
This was my third time running in the Sully Freedom Fun Run 5K (Recap). I was rewarded with a 2nd place AG medal.

A week later, I ran the Grimes Farm 8K Trail Run (Recap). This was my fourth time running this, and it's usually a pretty wet and muddy mess because a large part of the course is on grass trails and through the shaded woods. I wore an older pair of shoes...which proved to be a dumb decision, throwing off my form on the (already compromised) rough terrain.

with Barb

Later that afternoon, Barb and I headed to Ames for the Midnight Madness Road Races. We met up with Chuck, and we were planning to run the 5K, and then the 10K a short while later that evening. Having worn the "wrong" shoes that morning, my dormant hamstring tendonitis was awakend, and it was not happy. The 5K was a constant struggle from the start line. I finished the race, and spent the next 20 minutes frantically trying to stretch out the angry hamstring/glute/piriformis area. The 10K began, and within the first half mile, I decided to pull out and call it quits. That's right, folks...my first-ever DNF. I had my 12-hour Ultra happening the following weekend, and I didn't want to risk making things worse.

With Barb and Chuck

A week later, I headed to the Chicago area (Lisle, IL) for the Christmas in July 12-Hour Ultra (Recap). Having run the 6-Hour Ultra in 2015, myself and some friends decided to return and take on the 12-hour event for 2016. Our event began at 11:00PM, and involved an approximate 1-mile looped course around a lake (all through the night...and most of the next morning). Coming off my PF scare from June, and the recent hamstring/glute/piriformis distress from the previous weekend, I knew to take things cautiously. My goal was to complete a 50K (31-mile) distance...but was able to surpass that and finish 37 miles instead!

With Jamie, Penny, Maggie, (myself) and Michelle

August
The only event on my calendar for August (in addition to recovering from the ultra) was my first-ever OCR event. The No Man's Land Trench Run (Recap) involved seven-plus miles of gravel roads, grass trails, and numerous obstacles.

That would be a 20-pound sand bag...not heavy but awkward to carry

September
Early September had me running the Park to Park half marathon (Recap) in Waterloo, IA. This was my sixth time running this race, and this year we were blessed with several flooded river crossings (due to recent rain).

A few weeks later, I returned to the Quad Cities (a cluster of four cities on the Iowa/Illinois border) for the Quad Cities Marathon weekend (Recap). This was the site of my very first marathon (2013) and I returned in 2015 as part of a marathon relay team. This year, I ran the half marathon and also rallied three of my cousins to run the marathon with me on a relay team. Totally a great day!

Myself with Rhonda, Jessica, and Kelly

October
The IMT Des Moines Marathon is one of my must-do events every year. This year, I ran the Mercy Live Up Loop 5-Mile on Saturday (Recap), and the Half Marathon (Recap) on Sunday.

November
In November, I road-tripped (again, with my gal pal, Barb) almost eight hours to Tulsa, OK for the Route 66 Marathon (Recap). We ran the 5K on Saturday (more as a shakeout run...but later learned we both placed fifth in our respective age groups). The marathon on Sunday was a great event, but I was plagued with some unexpected hip/groin pain for most of the race. The route is very hilly (which I knew it would be) and there was a lot of wind on race day (which I was anticipating), but the hip/groin stuff totally blind-sided me. Even though it proved to be the toughest race I've ever run, it was a beautiful course with a lot of awesome crowd support.

Barb and I at the 5K

pics from MarathonFOTO as I crossed the Marathon finish line

December
And finally, December. Not a lot has been happening other than the Runner's World Run Streak, which began on Thanksgiving morning (and will conclude on New Year's Day). My recovery from Route 66 has been my main priority over running, but I have been able to do 1-mile daily runs for most of the Streak. I am now 33 days into the Streak, and only have six more days to go. This past week, I started to add gradual mileage to some of the runs...nothing grandiose and certainly nothing fast.

So, that's a wrap on 2016. Although there have been some struggles and several elusive PR's (and a few minor injuries thrown in for good measure), I am pretty satisfied and at peace with how the year played out. As I have said many times, "running is a gift." I appreciate every single mile that my feet will carry me. And, I don't take any finish line for granted.

How did 2016 play out for you? Challenges? Conquests? Are you ready for 2017?

I'm linking up with Marcia and Erica and Patty for Tuesdays on the Run and also with Deb for the Wednesday Word (which, for this week, is Peace).