Running 2011 in numbers

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's Eve!

I'm looking forward to 2012, tackling some goals and seeing what the year has in store for me. But first, a quick look back on 2011 in terms of running.

I'm happy to announce that New Year's Eve morning, I got myself out of bed and headed over to my group long run. It was a good run. And when I hit the stop button on my Garmin, not only had I finished 6.1 miles for the morning. That also meant that I logged

900.1 miles

in my running shoes during 2011. Guys. That's a lot of miles (for me). To put it in perspective, that's about the same distance it is from Oshkosh, WI to Athens, Georgia. That's kind of far. And kind of cool to realize I ran that far.

I admit, I had a goal of running 1,000 miles in 2011, but that plan fell apart in October and November when I lost my running mojo and started a "run when I feel like it" plan. But I'm OK with that decision, because I needed it. After hardcore training for the first 9 months of the year, I needed a slight break. And when I consider that my previous yearly mileage high was 590 miles (in 2010), I'm really OK with my 900 miles.

So what else did I do running-wise in 2011? I

• Ran four half marathons
• Ran four 5Ks
• Ran one 10K
• Ran one 5-miler
• Ran one "other" distance (the 1-mile Santa Scamper)
• Completed a Tough Mudder
• Completed an indoor triathlon
• Set new PRs in the 1 mile, 5K, 10K and half marathon distance
• Logged three 100+ mile months
• Joined a running group and met a pretty amazing group of people that taught me, pushed me and motivated me when it came to running but also have become good friends.

Yeah. I'd say it was a pretty good year.

So what's on the goal list for 2012?

• Run 1,000 miles
• Try out a new race distance
• Try a relay
• Run more half marathons and continue to run them faster
• Add in strength training - a goal I've had in the past but always seem to fail at miserably.

I'm looking forward to 2012 and seeing what it has in store for me.