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Running 2016

Hey, maybe I should write a 2016 year in review. Let's see...
Biggest "story" of 2016 for me in running and in life was moving from San Angelo.  This was a cultural shift from a big city to a small cowboy city. From a multitude of large running groups and a solid group of reliable running buddies to a couple of different groups made up of mostly the same people.  From running most of my miles with Ryan to running most of my miles alone.  I got to take a bigger part in the local running community though.  Hey, I'm in charge of the San Angelo Road Lizards Twitter now! (@SAroadlizards, we have 10 whole followers!) Additionally I got to charge of the volunteers for a small 5k and am looking at race directing for the first time next year.
What else happened this year...  Oh, I started this blog.  Then I abandoned it.  This will be my first post since August.  Granted, I've got a few mostly fleshed out but never published drafts sitting here waiting for me to finish up.  Beyond that, I've written many more in my head while out on runs.  Just never typed them out.  I had a few family members asking why I haven't continued it, so I realized that I couldn't completely give this up.
what else... what else...  Oh, I got placed in charge of the base running club.  Which typically just consists of me... I'm trying to get it off the ground still though.
Let's go with some positives:
PRs set this year:
1.5 mile PT Test : 10:14
5K : 21:09* Shannon Pink Ribbon Run (my watch has it as 2.99 but on course for a 21:59 which still was a PR)
10K : 47:57 Detroit Turkey Trot
1/2 Marathon : 1:42:49 San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon
30K Trail Race : 3:07:12 Dinosaur Trail Run
20 miles : 2:58:13 BCS Marathon
marathon : 4:12:18 BCS Marathon
50K : 5:47:58 Prickly Pear 50K
I ran 17 races in 2016, 2 with Mila, and placed in 4 of them.
2 more big changes were a dietary change to primal (high fat, low carbs).  It ended up in disastrous results during the JBSA Randolph 1/2 marathon my first week.  (There's no weening of off carbs so I had very little energy and finished about 10 minutes slower than I'd planned.) but I ended up dropping 20 pounds at one point.  Full disclosure, I've gained a few of them back over the holidays but it's back to it tomorrow.  The other training change was a combination of Heart Rate Training (the first Heart Rate blog I wrote) and Vdot training.  In essence, I went faster this year by running slower.  I spent way more of my running time at a true easy pace.  I believe that it helped me lose the weight and drop the time!

What's coming in 2017? Well I know the Houston Marathon is in 2 weeks.  After that... who knows?  If I go sub 4, I may be done with marathons.  I feel like I'll get talked into another, though.  One of my goals is to go up to a 50 miler in 2017 but I still need to find one and plan it out.  What's happening first though?  Rest!  I've been in training mode since May.  I'm going to throttle back a bit and focus on my PT test in March.  Then we'll be doing a Spartan Race in May.  I'll be heavily involved in the San Angelo Road Lizards, Team RWB, the GAFB Running group, and quite possibly the newly formed Weekend Runaways.  Actual running and racing is yet to be seen.  I hope to get back into writing more here also.

My favorite running pics (by month) of 2016
January
Jason's Run for Dystonia 5K/10K
February:
Red Run 5K repping Tyler & Peery.  Paced Mila and we got Cristina to come out too!
March
Ryan and I during the Prickly Pear 50K
April
Mila and I exploring San Angelo and finding the Concho Riverwalk/San Angelo Visitor's Center
May:
I PROMISE this has to do with running.  Gueros y Guapas (minus Ryan) at the post Beach to Bay beach party
June:
The first race I volunteered at here in San Angelo, the Run in the Sun 8K
July
Running in step with Mila on Free-Da's 5k in San Antonio
August
I got in a run with my friend Britt while in San Antonio taking Mila to the airport
September
Our "family picture" after the Kemah Tough 10K
October
Finishing up the Shannon Pink Ribbon Run in 4th overall, setting a 5K PR along the way
November
OK, so I cheated and picked 2.  This is Amy, Andy, and I after the Detroit Turkey Trot 10K.  Amy and I both PRed and Andy paced me the entire race, including the parts where traffic got so bad that we had to walk.
And this is my grandparents' house where I finished my 22 mile "grandma to grandma run" while home in November
December
Moments before starting the BCS Marathon


I hope everyone's 2016 went well and that their 2017 goes even better.  I resolve to probably write in here some more.  Happy New Year's!
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