Just me flexing like a doofus
2012 was a busy running year. Two new PRs. Two new barefoot milestones. Loads of miles. Lots of improvement.
And if this trend continues, 2013 will be busier, longer, and faster.
So, if you’re sitting at the doctor’s office or on the toilet with a few minutes to kill then feel free to read all about my 2012 running highlights and 2013 running goals.
My sister and I post marathon
If you’re bored with life, if you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things, you don’t have enough goals. – Lou Holtz
At the beginning of the year I set a handful of running goals: run a 5K a month; set a new marathon PR; and run a barefoot half and full marathon. Up until this past weekend I’ve knocked out 10 of 12 5Ks via Anywhere5K, set a marathon PR in Chicago (3:31:25), and ran a barefoot half in Indianapolis.
Since the NYC Marathon fell through, I decided to make Charlotte’s Thunder Road Marathon my first barefoot marathon. As an added bonus, my sister was going to run with me, and I was going to help pace her to a new PR.
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The Army Ten Miler (ATM) is one of my favorite races to run. But don’t take my word for it. Registration for the ATM opened to the public on May 15 at midnight. Within 9 hours all 20,000 spots were filled.
Put on by the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, the race starts and finishes at the Pentagon, passing by DC landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and the Capitol Building.
I ran the race in 2006 (1:13:05) and again in 2011 (1:17:29). This year, because the NYC marathon is just 2 weeks after the ATM, I decided to hold back a little and use the race as a barefoot warmup.
BRR 2012 Team GOFAR
Last year I joined Team Lost Soles to run the 2011 Blue Ridge Relay; a 208-mile race that starts in Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia and ends in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.
In the course of a year we lost six “soles” from the 2011 team (RIP), but we gained 6 new ones for the 2012 GOFAR team (RIP soon). If you subtract 6 from 12 you’ll see that half the team was willing to give the BRR the benefit of the doubt.
BRR 2012 Team GOFAR consisted of runners ranging in age (36 to more than 36) and experiences (marathon to triathalon to ultramarathon). We pushed through the heat, humidity, and occasional downpours. We braved each others’ body odor and never-ending supply of poop jokes.
We did it all in a mere 31 hours 32 minutes and 32 seconds.
