2013 Recap

  In short, 2013 was an awesome year for me (still have 8 more days of it.... but not much can happen between now and a week... I think). I had set up my very own training plan with intentions of having some awesome half marathon finish times and cutting minutes off each one after the one before - to recap that:
  2012 October 7 - Evansville Half Marathon - 2:36:39
I limped most of the way after injuring my groin and quad from too much training just after giving birth (race was 6 months after Dorian's birth). I knew then I had to do something, start thinking and training smarter so that is what I did after this race.
  April 7, 2013 - Go! St. Louis Half Marathon - 2:18:28
I knocked 18 minutes and 11 seconds off of my time in 6 months.
  October 5, 2013 - Evansville Half Marathon - 2:04:48
Six months after the St. Louis Half I knocked another 14 minutes off of my half marathon time. And a year after the same race I had knocked 32 minutes off.
   November 2, 2013 - Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon - 1:56:38
A sub 2 hour finish!!!  Barely a month after the Evansville Half, knocking 8 minutes and 10 seconds off of my time!

   My training plan not only helped me avoid injuries (along with heading to an actual running store to analyze my stride and pronation) - but it helped me kick butt on the half marathon distance, and earning one heck of a sub 2 hour time while enjoying myself.
Not just half marathon races, but I PR'd in the 5k department last November:
The 24th Annual Turkey Dash 5k - 24:40 with a 7:57 min/mile giving me a sub 8 min PR!!
   I've also enjoyed two great trail races, one night race that had most lost on the course of the 5 miler and some during the 5k. I got lost, so I didn't reach the 5 miler but I got close to it. Two weeks after the Indy Half I ran a 15k trail race placing 2nd in my age/gender group just 10-12 minutes behind the 1st place woman and coming in 5th place overall in the 15k distance. 

Suffice to say, 2013 has been an awesome year for me and I don't regret any of it and I am super excited for 2014 and beyond. My goals next year will begin with one very important one on New Years Day:

January 1, 2014 - Sign up for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
  
  I am extremely excited about this one, as it will be my very first marathon and whole new journey in a new chapter. I had such an awesome time Pr'ing at the half marathon there, but I hope it is my lucky course/city. That of course, is at the end of the year (most likely my last race of 2014).
 I've got quite a few races early on in 2014, with the only race during the summer being the Indian-Celina Challenge in June - the half marathon distance which is rumored to have more than 3,500 feet in elevation but thankfully it will be on trails. 
  January 25 will be my first night time half marathon trail race, it will be interesting for sure. February I've got one 5k race, March I've got two races - March 1st will be another trail half marathon at Angel Mounds so that will be a loop ran 4 times I believe, March 15 is the Run of Luck 7k which I will probably race hard just to see if I can place and earn a trophy. April most likely won't see any races. After the Indian-Celina race I plan to focus on training for the IMM.
   Of course I will always run the Evansville Half Marathon, out of loyalty, as it was the inspiration that began my running journey.

 I am very excited for 2014, I expect great things and a lot of fun!