2020 Running Year in Review

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As with many people as the year comes to a close I look back on the year to see what I accomplished and set goals for the upcoming year.  Since this is the first time I am doing this on my blog I feel the need to catch you up.  I have always enjoyed running and yet when I was younger never participated in any running sports, although there was one field day in sixth grade where I was selected to run for my class.  I couldn’t tell you the distance, maybe a quarter of a mile tops.  I ran my hardest, and at the end I remember it being down to me and one other girl, I pushed and crossed the finish line but I did not know if I had won. Expecting a teacher or room mom to tell me I was surprised when a mom came up to me and asked where I placed.  I looked around for the other girl to see if she might know but she was swept away by her classmates.  Not wanting to be dishonest and claim something that I did not earn I told the mom second place.  To this day I would still like to know if I won.  Flash forward to high school we had moved to a seaside town with a boardwalk and I loved to take a run at sunset during the warmer months.  I was never consistent with my running, I would just get the bug to run and go. In my twenties I ran a few times after having my daughter for exercise but again was not consistent.

2016 I was in the midst of my dissertation for my doctorate degree and realized I had put on twenty five pounds eating to stay awake trying to write and do research after my family had gone to bed.  I decided I needed to get up and move, but what kind of move?  Something I had read or heard suggested doing activities you enjoyed when you were younger.  Roller Skating was the first thing that came to mind but not very practical with two kids in tow on a busy street.  I remembered running but by now I had developed asthma, could I run?  I started to research running with asthma.  The first thing I found was to buy a medical ID bracelet in case something goes wrong.  Once I had that I found a couch to 5K app and began my running journey.  Alright it was mostly a walking journey.  I couldn’t run for very long and while the program was pushing me to run more the longest run segment was only about 2-3 minutes.  

2017 was a bust, I became even busier with my dissertation research and was a year behind completion.  I don’t even know if I got out for a walk. The best walk of the year was the one across the stage at graduation.

2018 my interest in running was rekindled when I found virtual challenges.  If you have not heard of these, there are companies that have races you do where you live then log your mileage and time on the site.  These are non-competitive but they are good to help you set goals and for the fee, you get finisher medals and t-shirts. My first challenge was 100 miles in three months and it had a private Facebook group, the group was geared towards women.  I still could not run very long so for this challenge my goal was to cover 100 intentional miles. I started trying to figure out how to run longer and from the suggestions, I learned that I needed to drink water as I ran, my throat would get too dry and make it hard for me to breathe.  I also started running with music.  The best advice came from a co-worker who told me to just go run 1 mile without stopping.  She said that once I did that more miles would come. She was so right! During the first challenge, some of those miles were running miles. Additionally, the Facebook group was so supportive it was a great experience and I signed up for the next three-month challenge but this time I would run all of the miles.  The second challenge took me longer than three months to complete, I sprained my foot and had to take a few weeks off to heal but I was able to run 100 miles in about 4 months. I found other virtual races that were 3 and 6 miles that you completed in one outing but I wanted more.

2019 my first year of live races. My year started off with a 5K race on New Year’s Day. When registering for the race I was looking through the race photos from previous years and noticed a co-worker.  The next workday I went to talk to her and she would be there with friends and asked me to join their costume theme as Star Wars characters and she knew from my Halloween costume they would have a Princess Leia.  I was so nervous not knowing what to expect that day.  With the support of family and friends, I finished my first live race!  I entered a few more local races, one I was held on an airport runway!  I even ran my first half-marathon and took second place for best costume at Cape May Running Company’s Hallowed Half. None of which I could have done without my family’s support.  Looking at my tracking data I ran 162 miles for the year between training and races.

2020 I joined a running group.  After the half-marathon in October 2019, I only ran about 1 or 2 times.  I signed up for a race but then covid happened and deferred my race.  I met up with the group for a run and I could not even finish a mile.  I let my nerves and my breathing get the best of me.  While that run was not one of my best it pushed me to train harder on my own so I could do better at the next group run.  The group has been great motivating me to run more and the peer pressure is the best.  After my first meet-up with the group I went home and signed up for 2 live races, one being the half-marathon again, the one I kept telling myself would be a one and done.  While races were deferred we completed a virtual race together and as summer ended and fall began we ran 2 more live races.  Delmoto put on a fantasic event, the Crest Best Run Fest where I competed in the 5K on Saturaday and the ten miler on Sunday. As the year was coming to a close I saw I was 48.8 miles from 300 miles for the year, challenge accepted.  This information came just as the group shared a virtual 100 or 200-mile challenge that was only 5 weeks long.  I signed up for the 100-mile challenge and made a plan.  From December 21 to the 31st I ran 48.8 miles!  I made my goal!  This is the most amount of running miles I have completed in that time span.  If you want to improve your running I highly suggest connecting with a local running group.  The running community as a whole is so supportive and encouraging.  I have already signed up for my first marathon that will be at the end of April, yes, I gave in to the peer pressure!  I look forward to what 2021 has in store for my running and I am excited to get to do more live races with my friends!  What did you accomplish in 2020 that you are excited about?