2011 - A Year in Review

Summary – 194 runs for a total of 1683.26km

8 races – 1 Marathon 3:55:22 (PB); 3 x half marathons 1:44:24 (PB), 1:50:22, 1:53:08, 2 x 10km 45:22 (PB), 46:26; 1x 8km 35:48 (PB); 1 x 5km 22:21 (PB).

Click on race times above to go to the full race results, and on the names of the races (in orange text) in the paragraphs below to go to my race reports.

Part 1 Jan 1^st to March 31^st

47 runs – 557.07km [Jan – 172.91; Feb – 169.24; Mar – 214.92]

My main focus for the year was to run my first marathon, the Ottawa Marathon in May. Therefore the first few months of 2011 were spent building suitable base and increasing my mileage. I managed one race in this quarter, the Winterman Half Marathon in February, clocking a pleasing 1:53:08 on no speed work whatsoever. I started my speed work in March and found that I hadn’t lost much if any speed at all since 2010 and was able to build up my speed and endurance as I found myself able to run harder outdoors as there was less ice and warmer temperatures were on their way. 

Part 2 April 1^st to June 30^th

26 runs – 411.14km [Apr – 174.72; May – 186.64; Jun – 49.78]

In the second quarter of the year I ran three races including my debut marathon. Before the marathon my running volume was high as I put in long runs of up to 30km and 15 to 20 km marathon paced runs to get myself in as good a condition as I could for the big race. In April I got to test just how much my speed and endurance had improved by running a personal best 1:44:24 in the Run for Reach Half Marathon. This result gave me a lot of confidence leading up to the Ottawa Marathon and for the first time I was dreaming of a sub-4 hour performance.

Soon enough the big day arrived and although the closing stages of the race were as mentally tough and physically painful as I have ever experienced in a race, I hung on and hit the line in 3:55:22.

Needless to say, my running volume in June was much lower as I took a bit of time off to recover, but that didn’t stop me clocking a then personal best 46:26 in the Do it for Dad 10km on Fathers Day.   

Part 3 July 1^st to September 30^th

31 runs – 307.97km [Jul – 121.55; Aug – 77.51; Sep – 108.91]

I got the 3^rd quarter of the year off to a great start with a personal best 22:21 at the Canada Day 5km race in Kanata. It was a blisteringly hot day and I think I definitely could have gone faster, but in the circumstances I was very happy with a PB. Afterwards I had the pleasure of running the 1km kids race with my daughter Emma who run her little legs off and clocked an impressive 8:48 for a 5 year old. My mileage for the month was a little on the low side as I struggled to find the time or energy to get out there and run. I ended up going into the Army Run Half Marathon undertrained and paid for it in the second half of the race. I started brightly enough but my lack of miles told, and I struggled badly in the last 6 or 7 km, but hung on for a decent enough time of 1:50:22. After, or probably during that race, I made a pact with myself to stop finding excuses and just get out and run. I had read of runners doing a 100 day challenge, whereby you run for 100 days in a row. The rules are simple, as long as a run is 10 minutes long or more, it counts toward the challenge. I embarked upon this challenge on 22^nd of September and didn’t look back.

Part 4 October 1^st to December 31^st

90 runs – 407.08km [Oct – 154.35; Nov – 124.74; Dec – 127.99]

Even in the midst of the 100 day challenge I was able to fit in 2 races and had personal bests and age group placements in both. The Chelsea Challenge 10km on Thanksgiving Monday was the site of my first ever age group (male 30-39) win. I ran a good aggressive race on the many hills and clocked a personal best 45:22 coming in 16^th place out of 58 runners and 1^st out of male runners between the ages of 30 and 39.

My inspiration for the race was simple. The day before I was running alongside my daughter again as she smashed her 1km best by 2 minutes for a personal best of 6:50. She showed a lot of tenacity, had a great time and was very proud of her medal. Not half as proud as me though, had a bit of a lump in my throat as she left me to sprint down the finish chute.

With the 100 day challenge ticking over nicely I signed up for an 8km race (Beat Beethoven) and finished 11^th out of 168 runners with a personal best of 35:48, good enough for 3^rd in my age group.

After that, I saw out the rest of the year, running every day ending up with a total of 1683.26 km for the year from 194 runs.

All in all, 2011 was an excellent year. Personal bests in all distances, a new personal best for total distance run, and number of runs. Best of all, no injuries. Hopefully 2012 has some big things in store for me.

Thanks for reading and here's wishing you and your family an excellent 2012!!