2014 Recap / 2015 Goals

The Short Version:

2014 Recap: 24 races ran, including 7 marathons and 3 ultra-marathons. Highlights include: my first marathon (Walt Disney World Marathon), my first ultra-marathon (24 Hours of Utah 50K), Pikes Peak Marathon, Bear Chase 50 Miler, and ended the year on a fast note with a 46:29 10K!

2015 Primary Goal: I'm stepping back from ultra and trail running, to instead focus on speedwork and road running and hopefully run a 3:35 Marathon which will qualify me for Boston!

The Long Version:

Time Recaps with 2015 Goals: I didn't focus on time and speed very much in 2014, and instead focused on having fun, racing a TON, and building endurance and confidence in running at the marathon and ultra level. However, I still had some success towards the end of the year with my huge PR at the 10K distance, and of course some improvement in my marathon times. As I work towards a Boston Qualifying Marathon time, I hope to dramatically improve a lot of my other PR's in 2015 (specifically for the 5K and Half Marathon distances).

5K:
2012 PR: 34:42
2013 PR: 23:50
2014 Goal: Sub 23:50. 2014 Actual: 23:50 (matched my PR exactly)
2015 Goal: Sub-22:30

10K:
2013 PR: 51:25
2014 Goal: Sub-50:00; 2014 Actual: 46:29 (!!! Still in shock about this!)
2015 Goal: Sub-45:00

Half-Marathon:
2013 PR: 1:56:35
2014 Goal: None (no goal Half's this year). 2014 Actual: I did run one half-marathon, but it was a week before Pikes Peak, so I ran it at a comfortable pace, finishing in 2:06:26.
2015 Goal: Sub-1:45

Full Marathon:
2013 PR: None
2014 Goal: Finish (later in the year, sub:4:00). 2014 Actual: Finished my first in 4:26:35. PR'd later in the year with 4:03:10
2015 Goal: Sub-3:35. This is obviously my biggest and most lofty goal. But what can I say, I'm a proponent of dreaming big!


2014 Race Recaps: A quick overview of all the races I ran this year:

01/12/14: Walt Disney World Marathon. Finished in 4:26:45 (First Marathon!)
02/08/14: Black Canyon Snowshoe 8K. Finished in 1:07:14 (First Snowshoe race)
02/15/14: Moab's Red Hot 33K. Finished in 4:37:19
03/22/14: 24 Hours of Utah 50K. Finished in 6:30:25 (First Ultra-Marathon!)
04/19/14: Desert RATS Trail Marathon. Finished in 6:30:55
05/03/14: Girls on the Run 5K. Finished in 29:24
05/04/14: Cimarron 50K Endurance Run. Finished in 6:37:29 (2nd Place Female)
05/17/14: Black Canyon Ascent 6 Miler. Finished in 1:12:52
05/18/14: Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon. Finished in 4:18:17
05/26.14: Bolder Boulder 10K. Finished in 1:00:39
06/14/14: Leadville Trail Marathon. Finished in 7:09:27
06/28/14: Trail Town 10 Miler. Finished in 1:30:45 (2nd Place Female)
07/19/14: Aspen Valley Marathon. Finished in 4:03:10 (PR!)
08/09/14: Mt. Sneffels Half Marathon. Finished in 2:06:26
08/17/14: Pikes Peak Marathon. Finished in 7:54:35
09/14/14: Lead King Loop 25K. Finished in 3:56:06
09/20/14: Broomfield Days 5K. Finished in 24:48
09/27/14: The Bear Chase 50 Miler. Finished in 12:31:16 (First 50!)
10/05/14: Black Canyon North Rim 20K. Finished in 1:57:23
10/19/14: Denver Rock-n-Roll Marathon. Finished in 4:27:11
11/01/14: Global Hope 5K. Finished in 23:50
11/22/14: Turkey Trek 10K. Finished in 51:32
11/27/14: Grand Junction Turkey Trot 5K. Finished in 32:43
12/06/14: Moab Winter Sun 10K. Finished in 46:29 (PR!)




Definitive Race Plans for 2015:

• 02/28/14: Phoenix Marathon - as of now, my plan is to shoot for a 3:45 marathon at Phoenix
• 03/21/14: Canyonlands Half Marathon - this race was my first half marathon 2 years ago, and my first race that left me feeling like a "true runner". I want to go back this year to "where it all began" and try for a PR.
• 05/03/14: Colorado Marathon - dependent upon Phoenix, I'd like to go for 3:35 at Colorado
• 07/19/14: Revel Rockies Marathon - hoping for sub-3:33 to hopefully secure a spot at Boston in 2016!
• 11/22/14: Route 66 Marathon - HOPING to have already BQ'd, and if so, my plan is to just have fun at this one and go for the "Center of the Universe detour".

Tentative Race Plans for 2015:

• 1/18/14 - Louisville Prairie Dog Half Marathon. Being on the other side of the mountains in the dead of winter, I am waiting to sign up dependent upon the weather forecast, but would really like to race this as prep for Phoenix Marathon.
• 6/27/14 - Slacker Half Marathon. This course has some serious downhill, which will be great training for Revel Rockies. I definitely plan to sign up for this as soon as registration opens on January 1st.
• 8/08/14 - Mt. Sneffels Half Marathon. This race is well put on, the course is gorgeous, and it's affordable, so I'll probably run it again this year.
• 9/12/14 - Colorado Fall Classic Marathon OR Imogene Pass Run. This is dependent upon how my quest for a Boston Qualifying time is going. I'd really like to do Imogene again, but a BQ is my #1 goal this year, so if I need to run another marathon instead, I will.
• 10/18/14 - The Other Half. This race is put on by the same people who put on Canyonlands, and I've heard nothing but wonderful things about it - so I want to finally run it this year!
• November 2014 - Rim Rock Marathon and/or Relay. I really wanted to do this race in 2014, but it didn't work out, so I really hope to be able to do it next year. I may opt for the relay since I'll be running Route 66 Marathon on November 22nd.

I also plan to mix in some shorter distances as well (5K/10K), depending on what works out with my schedule and budget.

Other goals:

• 2015 Miles in 2015!
• Despite running much longer distances this year, my yearly mileage ended up about the same overall from 2013 to 2014 (see below). I want to really focus on consistency this next year and hopefully break 2015 miles (an average of 38.75 miles per week).
• Mileage Recap:
• 2013 - 1722 Miles Including Crosstraining / 1513 Total Running Miles
• 2014 (as of 12/24) - 1680 Including Crosstraining / 1558 Running (note - I still have 7 days left this year - so I should actually be able to beat last years overall total).
• Reach my goal racing weight of 122-125 lbs 
•  (Now before I get comments about how I don't need to lose weight, here's the deal: No I don't "NEED" to lose weight, but as someone who is trying to get faster at running, it's pretty pertinent. Every extra pound you have is the equivalent to a minute off your marathon time. If I lose 10 lbs, that's 10 minutes off my marathon time right there and I need all the help I can get on my quest for a Boston qualifier, so I'm going to do what I can to get there. Also - according to the Body Mass Index (BMI), a healthy weight range for my height is 115-155 lbs. Getting to 122-125 still keeps me within the healthy range.)
• Summit two more 14ers
• I had this same goal for last year, which I did manage to do: Uncompahgre Peak and Pikes Peak! I hope to do at least 2 more next year. At the rate I'm going, I'll finish all of them in about 25 years :) 
• 3 days of strength training per week
• I don't know why this is so hard for me to do...I just have zero motivation for strength training. I'm not even talking lifting - just sit-ups, crunches, planks, squats etc. Nevertheless, I am going to try again this year!

So there you have it! Overall, 2014 was a pretty great year for running for me. I ran SO many amazing races, and am so lucky I was able to do so. I had a blast at my first marathon and am so grateful I got to go to Disney World to run it. I hope to go back someday to complete the Dopey Challenge (running the 5K, 10K, Half-Marathon, and Full-Marathon on consecutive days). I loved barely scratching the surface into the world of Ultra Marathons. I know I want to run more ultra's in the future, including attempting a 100 miler someday! But I am also really looking forward to stepping out of my comfort zone next year and focusing on speed. Speed is one thing that I've never enjoyed, but I do think I can get better at it with practice (just like all things in life, I am learning!). I honestly can't wait to see where consistency, and determination, and a little bit of speed training take me in 2015!

So to finish off this post, I will leave you with my motto for this next year:

"If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough."