A Look Back on 2011

Am I the very last to recap 2011?  No matter, I'm new to blogging, so I can do things in any kind of out-of-orderness that I please!  And 2011 was a truly amazing year, after all, one that definitely deserves a post (no matter how late, although I figured I better do it before the end of January!).

In 2011, I ran in Washington DC, Atlanta, New Orleans, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mexico, in the snow for the first time, and in costume for the first time.

This is Sunriver, Oregon, one of my favorite places on EARTH, where I ran in the snow for the very first time.  I took this picture on my run!

One of my costumes.  Ignore how messy we keep our room.

In 2011, I lived in Singapore for 8 weeks and visited 4 new countries, running in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.

In Bali I mastered the art of the jumping photo.

In Thailand I mastered the art of seeing nothing while snorkeling.

Although 2011 was far from the year of the PR thanks to many mini-injuries and a summer running ridiculously slow in heat and humidity, I did run 11 races.  I ran 3 half marathons, which included getting Rachael a PR, my first race at night, and my first awesome race in costume with Lisa and Jordanne.  I ran 4 5ks, which included my first race in Singapore, my free race (and introduction to Girls on the Run!) with Leandrea in Atlanta, PRing in my last ditch effort of December to make my 2011 resolution to PR the 5k, and a fun costumey book club Christmas run.  I ran 2 10ks in the first half of 2011, which included one blast of a weekend with a great group in my hometown and one PR (unfortunately unconfirmed by Garmin though!). No marathons were run, but I did jump through fire in the Hell Run and had another epic time at Hood to Coast (although it was marred by the terrible traffic woes) and I am saddened there are no relay plans yet for 2012 (Ragnar Northwest Passage??).

Hood to Coasting!

2011 was great but I hope 2012 will even be better. I have great hopes for 2012, as I think great changes lie ahead.  With that said, let's see how I did with my 2011 goals!

1. Be fit in more ways than just running.  This is especially the case for my first quarter goals (Jan-Mar).  Yoga, stretching, strength training, elliptical, swimming, I clearly need to be fit in many more ways than just running if I want to actually run. Semi-success.  I will carry this on into 2012, and this is especially relevant for me now with my new Run Less, Run Faster plan.  
2. Lose 5-10 pounds by March 18.  This goes hand and hand with #1.  Since the marathon, not running coupled with eating the same amount of food has not been good for me.  I need to work out, not just pout about not being able to run, since I hate working out when its not running.  I'd be happy losing 5, happier losing 10.  We're going to Mexico for a friend's wedding on March 18, 2011 so its a perfect swimsuit-wearing timeline, plus its 11 weeks away, which is a doable goal.  Also semi-success. I did lose those pounds, but then I gained them back while in Singapore.  I've lost some of those, I could lose a few more.  I'm reading "Racing Weight" right now which is a really fascinating book about the best weight for racing (obviously!).   
3. Do a triathlon!  This has been my new year's resolution for 3 years now, so I'm sucking at completing it.  I WILL do a triathlon (if just a sprint!) in 2011. Complete and utter fail.  For the 3rd year in a row.  FAIL FAIL FAIL!  I think the key here is that I just have to face the fact that I don't love to bike, and I hate to swim in open water.  And oh yeah, I love to run.  Running and I are definitely in an exclusive, monogamous relationship.  I don't like to cheat on running.  I still would like to do a triathlon, and I definitely will in my lifetime.  If it doesn't happen in 2012 though, I won't be devastated.  It just leaves more money/time for running races.  Did I mention JMan is letting me enter the NYC Marathon Lottery?!
4. Get fewer parking tickets.  It would be really really nice to get fewer parking tickets in 2011.  Maybe I'll aim for 3 or less.  I think I got 6-8 this year.  Its not good for my psyche or my wallet. SUCCESS SUCCESS SUCCESS!  Perhaps this trumps #3, because while that was an utter fail, this was an UTTER SUCCESS!  Not only did I get 3 or less, I got ZERO PARKING TICKETS!  Yes.  More money for races.   Did I mention JMan is letting me enter the NYC Marathon Lottery?!
5. Running goals.  This is last because right now I have no idea when I'll be able to seriously run again because of this stupid ITB.  But I would like to run 1,000 miles in 2011 (I'm missing it by 2.5 measely unrunnable miles right now!), do a half marathon if not a full (Newport Marathon on my birthday seems impossible now), do Hood to Coast, and get a PR in the 5K.  2011 will be the year of the 5K.  DONE DONE DONE!  Okay, I didn't do a full marathon, but I did not 1 but 3 half marathons, Hood to Coast, and PR'ed in the 5k (if only by the skin of my teeth).  I ran over 1,000 miles (also by the skin of my teeth) and kept the evil ITB at bay (though not the evil shin splint, but that wasn't in the goal; and that's for another post).  

3 out of 5's not bad!  Overall, I'll call 2011 a big WIN!