2011 Year End Summary

I guess it's that time of year when we are supposed to look back and see how the year went. In terms of running, I can't even remember what 2010 was like...and I sure can't recall what my goals for 2011 were. I'm not the goal creation kind of guy anyway. I like to keep things under the radar and not make public pronouncements. So I should probably skip this post and move onto something more concrete. Something that looks forward, without commitments, and simply says "I like to run and I'll continue to run in 2012." That's pretty straightforward. No looking back. Why live in the past?

Chris' Wrap-Up for 2010 (posted December 29, 2010)
Chris' Goals for 2011 (posted December 31, 2010)

Damn it!  Now that I see those old blog posts, I do remember thinking about 2010 and looking forward to 2011. OK, too early to post goals for 2012, but I guess I can look back on 2011 and see how my goals for this year were met...or not.

First, the good news.  I am ending this year injury-free and happy.

Now onto my 4 goals for this past year...

1. Run every day of 2011 (keep running streak alive)
This didn't happen. I made it to 95 days and it all ended on February 28th. You can read all about it here.  Basically, I got cocky and tried some speedwork on the treadmill and injured my calf. 

2. Hit 50 miles at Howl at the Moon 8-Hour race
This didn't happen either. I ran well this year, but ended up with only 43.77 miles. It was good enough for 19th place out of almost 300 runners. Not bad, eh? You can read more about it here. 

3. Finish an ultra-marathon in FiveFinger shoes
This didn't happen. I did lots of running in my FiveFinger shoes, but never anything over about 20 miles. Certainly no ultra. I did maintain my preference for minimalist footwear...and I kept running barefoot...but no ultramarathons in VFFs.

4. Set at least one new running personal record (PR)
Accomplished! I ran my first 50 mile ultra, and even though it was terribly slow (12:49, 32/86 starters), it still counts as a personal record for this particular distance!  I've run farther than 50 miles in several races, but never an actual 50-mile ultra. The Potawatomi 50 miler back in April was run on very low mileage and during my come-back from the calf injury. I finished. I even tweeted from the course for the full 50 miles. Read my fantastic race report here. 

So 2011 saw me complete one of four goals. Is 25% good? Probably not. The good news is that I'm happy and injury-free at the end of 2011...and I've started a new running streak (today is Day #35)...and I'm ready for a super year of running in 2012!  Before the end of 2011, I'll post my races for 2012, goals for 2012, and my training plan for 2012. Lots of good posts still left in 2011. Keep reading.

How did your running go this year?