Overview

I'm pretty happy with how 2017 turned out for running. While it wasn't perfect, I did escape any serious injury and finished all my races (and added a few new PR's to boot).

Races

I ran in 7 races this year, just about every distance except probably the two most popular (5K and marathon). The distances included a mile race all the way up to my first ultra (road 50K), so it was a pretty good mix. It was mostly road races, aside from the Solstice race being on carriage trail and the Guess Your Time race being a mix of road and carriage trail.

Hopefully it goes without saying that my year was geared around the 50k and everything was gravy. I wrote a few posts on it earlier in the year, including Training for First Ultra, A Running Gallery With No Pictures of Running, and My First Ultra. I'll cover future plans for the race at the end.

It was my second year doing the Celebrate Life half; it's a nice race, although this year was insanely cold (not helped by an anthem singer who decided to hold each note for 30 seconds). The original plan was to run with Sean and take a stab at doing a reverse split via steps (that is, each mile faster than the last), but that totally went out the window when we went out pretty quick. Oops. He kept running fast with Dave while I stayed with the pack and eventually ran solo to finish (I might have had a cup of beer a mile to go; the best kind of spectators!). Our go-pro'd group photo early in the race made a local paper, so that was neat (even if they didn't ask first and spelled the photographer's name wrong). It was Lauren's first half, so now I'm counting down the time for her to beat my PR from last year. All in all, a fun race and I wasn't crushed afterwards, so that was nice. About 99% chance I'll be there in 2018.

I missed the Solstice race last year, so it was nice actually running it this year. My parents got out to the park and met most of the usual running crew. It was technically my first (and only) real “trail” race, but it's carriage trail so eventually I'll need to do some single track to get some street cred (ha). I didn't worry about pace and just wanted to run a solid race. It basically goes up for the first half of the race, so a bit different from what I'm used to (generally hills around home are more short bursts over a half mile or less).

The Putnam 8 miler actually covers a decent chunk of the 50k course, so that was a bit surreal (everything is green! and I'm not walking ever! Or eating? Why do no water spots have pretzels and candy???). I was gunning for a PR and it's always nice when a plan comes together.

The Guess-your-time race was a lot easier this year, as it was the same course as last year so I went with a time slightly faster than my actual time in 2016. A bit cheesy, but I don't make the rules. And a few people were within a few seconds of their guesses (newcomers all, I think).

The mile race was a slight bummer. I was really hoping to go sub-6 minute and the time is close enough that the difference between chip and gun time might have done the trick… if they had chip timing. Ah well, next year! On the bright side, even though I was just short of my goal I was a lot stronger and finished with a kick this year (last year I died over the last 1/4 mile). I suppose worth noting my GPS had my mile time as 5:49, but the race does have a turn-around and GPS devices are known to be idiotic with such things (mine dinged about 20 yards before the actual finish line).

I went full tilt in my local 10k, and even got to use local knowledge of the course to my advantage! I was passed by a handful of people on the downhill to the Croton River (note: I was not going slow, just wasn't pushing hard). On the ensuing climb back up I passed them in return and even caught a few that had always been ahead of me. Yay for tactics! Or is it strategy? Both? Either way, I placed for the first time in the race and earned a pie! So worth it.

Originally I had planned on running a 5K as well, but I ended up passing on that as my foot started to bother me so I cut down my mileage for a bit. A slight bummer since I was in shape to get a new PR. Next year!?

Unofficially there was also our annual Shoes to Brews run from RoHV down to Yonkers Brewery (albeit with a short train ride first). A few folks ran from the store proper and made it a true long run, but I settled on doing just a little extra at the end along the river to make it a half marathon. We had a large group again, lots of new and familiar faces, and guessing it won't be the last!

Training

My first thousand mile year, so that's pretty cool! And overall things are trending in the right direction.

To summarize my 50k training, I started with a new-to-50k plan that lasted 2 weeks before I hurt my toe and had to take a week off, and then nurse it for the remainder of the year (it was fine running for the most part, at least after the first month or so). After that, I made sure I got in my weekly long run and then threw in a couple other runs during the week. I was pretty good with maintaining twice a week cross-training as well (simple yoga/stretching, dumbbells, planks/ pushups/pullups).

After the race I took two weeks off from everything (and then the whole year off from cross training because I'm lazy!). I focused on being consistent with mileage, especially mindful during the summer since normally I really tail off as the temperatures climb. That plan was certainly helped by a more mild June-August (certainly compared to the last couple years).

I also worked in weekly speed workouts at the local track, as I was really hoping to do better in the mile race later in the summer. I threw in a longish run about once a month when the weather was confused and gave us a 72F day.

As per the past few years, my most consistent weekly run was with my fellow RoHV Thursday group runners. A fun group who ran in a number of the races above.

The Distance

My long runs (loosely defined here as 10+ miles) didn't change dramatically in number, but they certainly covered larger distances. My previous long was 14.3 miles, and my training + 50k race resulted in 8 runs this year that eclipsed it.

Shoes

One running-geek interesting bit is that I switched from being a long-time Asics Cumulus runner to the Altra Torin in time for the 10k. I really like it and plan on getting a new pair in the coming months. Maybe two, as ultra training makes you go through shoes at a pretty rapid clip. I remember when shoes would last years! Oh, to be young and foolish. The treads and uppers are still in solid enough shape on my last Cumulus pair, but frankly I'm so used to the wide toe box of the Torin that they've been downgraded to walking-around shoes.

Apps

I still use Strava for social aspects (and sanity checking my numbers), but primarily use WetzRun for tracking data. I have a console app that backs up any files on my Garmin watches and processes them. I have a local web app that I use to manage data. Last but not least, I created a bare-bones Windows app to simply show my current status (including a rolling average + 10% so I have an idea on what I should cap my mileage at).

Future Plans

I'm planning on running the same 50K again this year. I still really like the idea of a nearby race that's small and inexpensive (more or less the opposite of 99% of marathons). As such, my training prep has already begun with building up my base mileage (currently mid-20s) and shorter long runs. Next week I'll kick off a similar plan as last year:

• Increase weekly long run by 2 miles every week from 10 up to 18, then alternate between 16 and next bump (capped at 26)
• Run 5 times a week (unlike last time, more focused on easy mileage and less on incessant hill workouts)
• Cross-train twice a week (ideally right before run). Depending how it goes I may add a third day, as it really seems to help with training and recovery as the mileage goes up.

The primary goal again will be to finish. I have a new hydration pack that is more comfortable and can carry more water (and stuff in general), so I'm confident I can easily cut about 10 minutes from my time at aid stations. If the weather is better (and it most likely will be), that'll help my time. And better fitness and course knowledge will go a long way as well, so I'm thinking 20-30 minute improvement is not out of the question.

Aside from that, I'll again look to break the 6 minute mile late in the summer. I'd also like to actually take a run at a 5k for a new PR. I'll most likely run the local 10k again, so shaving a few seconds off that would be a nice cherry on top. Or apple pie if I manage to place again.

As for overall training, I'm leaning towards getting out a bit more for runs, especially to try more trail running (even if it's mostly carriage trail, such as at Rockefeller). Those require driving, though, and I'm lazy and usually just tie my shoes and go instead of laboriously migrating to a new location via automobile locomotion.