Looking Back at 2012

A year that starts with a 10K PR on the first day, has a marathon in Hawaii in the first month, nears it’s finish with an Ironman and then caps off with a 5K PR can only go down as a good year. There were some challenges, some injuries, and some frustrations along the way, but those were minor compared to the successes and fun.

Not including strength training, I trained over 465 hours and went over 4,750 miles. While I ran about 200 miles less than I did last year, coming in at 1,100 miles, I biked 1,500 miles more than last year, racking up 3,500 miles. Although I didn’t track my swims for 2011,  in 2012 I swam about 120 miles. While I love numbers, I think pictures tell the story better.

Polar Dash 10K on January 1st:  Starting off the year with a PR is always good.

In late January, Mike and I went to Maui to celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary. While we were there, we ran the Maui Oceanfront Marathon. It was by far the most challenging marathon I’ve done, but I was really proud of my effort.

Spring brought The Race for the Cure and heading back outside on the bike.

By summer it was time to get ready for Ironman Florida. I practiced changing my tire.

Open water swam with friends.

Did the Tour de Cure with Mike.

Did some triathlons.

Ran the Gopher to Badger Half Marathon.

Had some setbacks.

Was able to come back and run better than ever.

Ironman Florida made all of the training worthwhile.

I PR’ed my Thanksgiving Day 5K while running with my son which made it extra special, and then celebrated with the whole family afterwards.

What you don’t see in the pictures are all of the people that gave me support and encouragement towards my Ironman goal all through the year. There were friends that trained with me, listened and gave me great advice when I needed it. There were family members who listened to endless stories about training and injuries and plans. Most of all, there was Mike who believed that I could do it long before I thought it was possible. When I was injured and thought I would have to give up, he gave me hope that I could work through it and make it to the start line. It would have never occurred to me to attempt to do an Ironman if he hadn’t told me that he knew I could do it, and I’m so glad that I believed him. Everyone should have someone in their life that believes they can do amazing things and supports them every step of the way. I’m lucky enough to have more than one someone, and I’m thankful to all of them for a great 2012!