So I officially ended my 7 day challenge (and not to mention my 2012 running year) with a bang today!

 

7 days and 32 miles later, I could not think of a better way to end my 2012 running year!  I had a lot of fun with this “challenge” and feel absolutely great on top of it.  My legs felt shockingly fresh this morning when I woke up and I had a feeling my long run was going to be great.  I also managed to stay injury free throughout this week which was another surprise.  While I was smart about when to take days of “relative rest,” I am still impressed with how well my body took to the increased frequency and mileage.  I also got this nice little designation on Nike+:

A Nice Lazy Sunday Morning

Charles and I had a great night last night of playing our new Epic Mickey 2 game on PS3 (which I super fun – especially for a Disney fanatic like myself) and catching up on watching Louie on Netflix (which we recently got hooked on courtesy of my brother).  We went to bed at a reasonable hour and, since the weather report for tomorrow looked great, I didn’t set an alarm for the morning.  We woke up around 11 am (I know, super lazy but we caught up on much-needed sleep) and the weather outside was in the low 50’s as predicted.  I slowly got ready for my run and headed out.

I can’t remember the last time I went for a long run in 50 something degree weather – I know, Florida life is tough – so I had no idea how to dress for the occasion.  I opted for long running tights, a tank, and a loose long-sleeved running top over it.  While I hate the idea of having to take off a layer while running, I figured this was my best bet.  At least I could get cooler if I really felt like I needed to.  Which brings me to my next point; I think it’s time to invest in some arm sleeves for just such an occasion.  Does anyone have a particular running arm sleeve to recommend?

My long run ended up being amazing.  At an average of 9:16 pace, this sort of performance could indicate a Tink PR.  I feel very encouraged!  I’m not sure if it was the weather, a good night’s sleep or any other factor but I felt amazing.  Although my average pace at Wine & Dine was faster, my training runs were closer to 9:30 pace at that point.  If I can kick it into high gear for the race, there’s some hope!  Here’s a quick look at my stats from today:

 

It feels awesome to end the year with an amazing feeling run.  I cannot wait to start the year  with renewed commitment and focus.  It was probably around February of 2012 that I really started to get serious-serious about running.  It was then that I decided to keep my long runs consistently long, started adding speed work into the mix, upped the consistency and intensity of my cross training and more.  I can only imagine what I will be able to accomplish in the next year with that much more experience and knowledge in my athletic arsenal.

Here’s a bit about my 2012 year in running:

• Ran 907.64 miles
• Burned just shy of 100,000 calories – I wonder how many burgers or pieces of pizza that equates to!
• I spent over 143 hours of my year running (equivalent to almost 6 full days)
• I went from a 5k PR of 26:05 to 23:40 which is one of the accomplishments I am most proud of.  Now, if I could only decrease my time by another 2-3 minutes over the next year, that would be amazing (although too challenging to hope for) – we’ll just see where the year takes me.
• I went from a 1/2 marathon PR of 2:08:53 to 2:00:31.  That represents a pace improvement from about 9:51 to 9:10

I have some fun New Years Eve plans with my hubby and friends tomorrow night so hopefully New Year’s Day will be a good time to fill you all in on the festivities!  Until then, have a safe and happy new year!  I’ve enjoyed sharing just some of my 2012 with you and I am excited to see what 2013 has in store for us all!

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How did your 2012 in running go?  What was your proudest accomplishment?