2017 Year in Running Review

Happy new year!! It's been another amazing year! My second year living in California has been great. I've got my neighborhood routes pretty much figured out depending on the miles I do. I love that I run in a place with beautiful running paths and so many options. I didn't run as many races as last year but it was still a good year. If you want to see what I did last year, you can check out last year's review here. However, I think the best part of the year was working with a coach for the first time, improving my times in the half marathon/marathon, making new running friends and meeting people from the Interwebs!

In 2017 I ran a total of 1,416 miles. It's the most I've ever ran ever in a year and again I'm pretty sure it's due to training for a marathon. 

I ran a total of 11 races. 

I ran:
1 marathon
1 20 miler
4 half marathons 
1 10 miler
1 12K
210Ks 
1 5K

All the races were in California this year. I stayed closer to home in 2017 but I'm hoping to run in some new states in 2018.

The year started out with the Davis Stampede 10K. I had just started half marathon training with Coach Dawn and I treated this run as a training run and ran with my friend Elizabeth. Even as a training run I managed 3rd place in my AG! It was a great first race of the year!

Next up was the Davis Lucky Run 10 miler. Again this race was supposed to be a training run but I ended up going faster than I should have and I did end up with first in my AG at this race. 

At the end of March I ran the Rock'n'Roll San Francisco Half Marathon! This was one of my favorite races of the year! I ran it with my sister and BRF Lenora! It was a blast running with them even though I struggled for some of it because I had intended to run it slower per Coach's schedule. It was fun and running on the Golden Gate bridge doesn't get old. Such a cool experience each time!

I did more cross training with a great group of ladies this year. The workouts are circuit type workouts where there would be stations with different exercises (core/arm/legs/shoulders) and we'd do them for 30-50 seconds and then switch. Anyway one of the gals in the group suggested we do a mud run and I was totally up for it. I did my first mud run, the Russian River Mud Run 10K and it was a blast! I enjoyed climbing, crawling, and getting dirty. :)

My next race of the year was my goal half marathon race. It was the one I was training for and hoping to PR, the American River Parkway Half marathon. It's a beautiful course and I ran this one also with Lenora. I did manage to PR, but barely so I was slightly disappointed because I trained so hard for it. It did get hot in the last couple of miles so I will blame it on weather and bad hydration. :p

My next race was another favorite, Bay to Breakers. This is the best race to do with friends and just run and enjoy all the people and costumes. I had a blast with both Erin and Lenora in this one.

Next up was my first 5K in a long while. Lenora had asked if I wanted to join her in this one and I was totally up for it. It is hard for me to say no to a race so I signed up. The race was the KP Women's Fitness Festival 5K. What makes this race memorable is I ended up going out the night before and didn't get home till really late so I had very little sleep for this race. I still managed a PR and had a great time. 

The 5K was my last race with my BRF Lenora before she moved to Texas. It was so sad to see her leave but we have plans to meet up for some races in 2018 so I'm excited for that. After the 5K, it was nice to take a break from training schedules in the summer but it wasn't long before I had to get back into things for my 2nd marathon. Again I used Coach Dawn to help train me for the California International Marathon (CIM) in December. 

My next scheduled half marathon was the Urban Cow half. In the middle of marathon training, it was treated as a training run. It was a fun one that I ran with my friend Elizabeth. 

Just a week after the Urban Cow Half, I had Rock'n'Roll San Jose half marathon scheduled. Coach had me race this one and knowing it was a flat and fast course, I went for it. I managed to PR (1:50:24) and this time it was a time I was very happy with. I really think Coach Dawn and marathon training made a difference in this one. 

Next up was the Run The Parkway 20 miler. This was my 20 mile training run for CIM. It was a fun one with Elizabeth and I even took my GoPRO along and got some fun video footage. The Parkway in Sacramento is a beautiful place to run and I really enjoyed running my 20 miler there.

My last race of the year was the big one, CIM! It was great because my sister also came to run it. My goal was to get under 4 hours and I got it! It was a tough course with the rolling hills but I got it done even with my calf cramping and having to walk towards the end. I PR'd over 12 minutes from my first marathon in Chicago with a time of 3:56:45. It was an awesome feeling.

That concludes my 2017 year of running! It was a great year of PR's. Many thanks to my husband and fam for supporting me and also to Coach Dawn for helping me get those PR's. My speed and endurance have definitely improved. I'm already looking forward to seeing what 2018 brings. Lots of fun races planned and I've already registered for marathon number 3 in September! 

Have a great 2018 and happy running!