2012 by the numbers! Holy cow!

I may as well do my end of the year review today, even though there is still 6 days left of 2012!  Why now, you ask? 
*sigh* 

My fitness goals have been sidelined until January 2nd due to a bout with Viral Meningitis!  What the, what????

Yep, after years and years of only getting minor illnesses like colds and such, I got hit with the double whammy of illness.  First a 3 day bout with pretty severe Strep Throat followed immediately after with viral meningitis that landed me in the hospital for 5 days.  For the sake of brevity, I'll leave out most of the details, but basically, though I'm feeling pretty well physically now and feel like I *could* run or do some other type of workout, I'm saddled with a picc line in my arm and have to do twice daily IV antibiotics till January 2nd.  I'm not allowed to get the dressings wet or sweaty, which means no workouts for me. 

The timing of these illnesses is incredibly poor.  I have been working on making my goal of 800 miles of running for the year, and am THISCLOSE to reaching it... and will not make it because of recent events.  How close was I? 

Running total for 2012:
782.7

SO frustrating.  My last run was a 6 miler on December 16th.  I would have easily crushed the 800 mile goal by 12/31.

Oh well, I have even bigger and better goals for 2013, and will go into more detail in my next blog post.  Let's look back at the stats for this year now, shall we?

Cycling
This was my first year of going out on my road bike.  I was super fearful and skeptical at first, as it just seemed scary to ride with others on a bike that seemed so fast!  I had no real "goals" related to cycling, but for fun, I set a goal of 500 miles for June-August.  Mostly though the goal was that I just wanted to go out on a long ride at least once a week this summer.  Now that Summer is long gone, I have been going to spin class at least once a week for crosstraining.  I DID end up meeting that 500 mile goal and then spin classes have continued to add to my total! 

Cycling total for 2012:
818.1 miles!

Best month:
June - 226.1 miles

Farthest ride:
June 24th- 53.8 miles

Running
Like I mentioned earlier, I had been working on an 800 mile goal... and came close.  It wasn't a goal I had set out early in the year, it was really only a goal that I've technically been working on since after the marathon.  I needed motivation to keep running even though I wasn't in training for something, so the 800 miles was just something I felt was achievable after looking at my numbers midway through October.  And even though I didn't technically reach 800, that was one of the few goals I DIDN'T make.  As it turns out, 2012 was a fantastic year for me!  Let's review!

Running total for 2012:
782.7

Average miles per week:
15

Best Months:
August- 112.4 miles
September- 107.5 miles

Best Weeks:
August 19th- 35.1 miles
September 9th- 35 miles

Races
I ran quite a few races this year.... and I got a PR in each and every race, with the only exception being the Filthy 5k at the end of September as it was a slippery mud race that took place one week before Twin Cities Marathon!  A recap:

3/16/12- St Patrick's Day 5k:  32:16 PR!
5/19/12- Fargo 1/2 Marathon:  2:28:59 PR!!
6/9/12- Lindenwood 10k:  1:06:13 PR!
7/19/12- Scheel's Run for the Red 5k:  30:26 PR!
9/1/12- Women Rock MN 1/2 Marathon:  2:18:51 PR!!!
9/29/12- Filthy 5k:  41:44
10/7/12- Twin Cities Marathon 5:17:46 PR (first full marathon!!!)
10/20/12- Fargo Mini Marathon (1/2 marathon):  2:14:09 PR!!!
11/3/12- Sandy's Donut Run 5k:  28:32 PR!!!!

Improvements since I started running in 2011:
Since I started running:
-Shaved 51 minutes off my 1/2 marathon time
-In Nov 2011, I ran a 5k in 36:49 (PR).  In Nov 2012, I ran a 5k in 28:32 (PR)- over 8 minute improvement!
-In 2011, my average pace for long runs was 13:30 or more.  In 2012, my average pace for long runs was 10:45-11:30
-In 2011, my average pace for short runs was 12:30 or more.  In 2012, my short runs were somewhere between 9:50-10:30
-In 2011, 4 miles felt like a long run.  In 2012, 5 miles felt like a short easy run.
-When I started running In January 2011, my weight was 180 and I wore a size 14.  At the peak of my marathon training in October, I was 150 lbs and wore between a size 6 and 8.  (I'm up about 5 lbs since the marathon due to holidays, etc).


So there you have it!  Apparently if you keep at it, you keep getting better!  2012 was a GREAT year for me!  I have run this year totally injury free, and the only hiccup took place in the past couple of weeks with my stupid illnesses. 

Hope everybody has a GREAT rest of the holiday season and I will post soon about next year's goals!