A bit of self-indulgence...Looking back at 2011 and ahead to 2012

In 2011, I sorta fell off the blogging bandwagon...only 58 posts for the whole year. That being said, a few posts back, I did pass the 400 blog milestone and in fact, in two days, the Hefferblog will be 4 years old.

However, even though I wasn't blogging about running, I apparently was actually running. I've been watching my running/riding numbers on Daily Mile for the last few weeks and was surprised when I saw that I was nearing 1000 miles total, which was one of my goals for the year... Full disclosure, I'd actually forgotten that I'd set it as a goal, but it's nice to know that I'd met it anyway...maybe it was subconscious.

Here are my 2011 numbers

• Running: 691 miles
• Cycling: 459 miles
• Total: 1150 miles

Last January, when I wrote a year in review/looking ahead post I'd logged 875 miles total...and I was sorta bummed about that. Apparently the previous January, I'd set a 1000 mile goal for myself and just like this year, I'd forgotten that I set the goal, so then I whined about not meeting a goal when you only kinda-sorta set it for yourself.

Fast forward to 2011 when I ran about 100 miles more (691 vs. 589 miles) than in 2010, which I find kind of surprising since I actually ran fewer races this past year, but the thing that really put me over 1000 miles is the cycling (459 vs. 154 miles) which means that in 2010, I barely rode much at all.

Mostly, I think the increase in mileage can be mostly attributed to the fact that I just wasn't injured this year (woot! woot! woot for that).

So, in looking back at 2011, there were some other things that seem especially worth remembering

The Herd Stuff

• I helped Elsie, Betty, and now Wilma buy new road bikes (so expect that cycling mileage to increase even more this coming year).

Elsie gets a new bike in November

Betty gets a new ride in December

Wilma's new ride (OK...it was January 2012...but it was the 2nd, so it counts)

BTW...the local Trek store completely owes me a commission! I have complete and udder bike-envy over their carbon bikes now...but I will be a good girl and wait a while longer before plunking down some moo-la for a ride.

• Mik, Betty, Elsie and I ran two destination half-marathons this year - The Napa-to-Sonoma half in July and the Nike Women's half in October.

My girls...

• DramaGirl and Millie (Betty's daughter) joined us as our chauffeurs and general good sports when we went to Napa. 
• Much of the rest of the herd joined us in San Francisco in October to help celebrate Elsie's birthday. 

Happiness is celebrating with the Herd!

The Silly Stuff

• Of course, there is the plethora of lost keys, flat tires, too many mimosas to count, inside jokes, and just downright ridiculousness, that comes when a group of women spend (according to some of our spouses) way too much time together. 

Running in the pouring rain with Betty and Irene

Getting on the wrong early train for the SDTC Train Run, which we got away with despite not having tickets, but because we had shoe tags!

4am - San Francisco International

I have no idea why I took this picture... The toilet seat was really low 

Alberta boxed

We made friends with The Conjugator

Karaoke Night (no link...one of the many things I did not blog about this year. We're in a pool bar. Use your imagination...)

Sometimes we have too many pseudonyms

There is humor everywhere

The Family Stuff

• These three people really are the center of my universe. We too had a really wonderful year full of with some fun vacations, some of them elsewhere in the world, many of them near to home. I look at these and cannot believe how incredible lucky and blessed I am to have them in my life.

Sunsets with Walter

Ditto

Running with Walter and DramaGirl (Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot) 

Transportation and Sports Day - Turbo, Walter, and I drive to the Stadium, trolley to Cox Arena for an Aztec basketball game, trolley back to stadium for an Aztec football game, drive home 

My boy 

Carving pumpkins with friends

DG plays varsity field hockey 

Before going to Lazz's Mad Men Party

The crew - from LA

The most you'll ever see of me in a two piece swimsuit! (in Vegas

My guy

Sleeping beauty (she'll kill me for that...but isn't she beautiful?)

Turbo in The Music Man last fall (third from the left) 

My beautiful sisters (oh...and me)

Walter pretending to play golf 

DG learns to drive (GAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!)

The Active Stuff

• The best thing out of the year, really, is that I just didn't get hurt. I want to attribute this mostly to not overdoing it and part of it to cross training. I tried doing some weight work this year (far to sporadically), but I think that helped, as did riding the bike. Rarely did I run more than two days in a row.
• Most surprisingly, it was a year of PRs. Five in all, at all distances I run (5K, 10K, 15K, Half-Marathon, and an odd 4 mile race) -- Sue Kren (15K) - 1:37:42 (10:29);  SuperRun (10K) - 1:01:55 (9:58); Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon - 2:22:58 (10:55); End of Summer Fire Run - 38.22 (9:31); Run for the Hungry 5K - 28:26 (8:52). 
• In fact, I didn't have, what I would consider, a bad race all year. I think this is, again, because I didn't overdo it. I only ran three half-ms (the last several years, I've done 4) and that seems to give me enough recovery time between races to...well...recover. 
• Of course, after every race, and many other runs, there are mimosas, recaps, laughs, and stories....which is really why we do all this, and why I continue to try to write about it.

Looking Ahead
I am among those who do make annual resolutions or set goals for myself. I write them down, and then pretty much forget that I made them, but not really. I do think that the act of writing them down does, somehow stick with me. So looking ahead I'd like to:

• Run/Ride 2000 miles. This seems very doable if I continue to ride regularly once school starts, and more frequently during breaks and in the summer. I am so lucky that I have flexibility in my work that allows me to do this.
• Not be injured again, by continuing to cross train and to not overdo it.
• To run at least two half-marathons this year. The first is in two weeks (Carlsbad 1/2), but after that, I don't have anything planned. There's a bit of a schism in the herd right now as we become more invested in cycling (much easier on the body), and less in running long distances. But, I'm really not ready to quit the half-marathon thing yet. Carlsbad will be the first half-mary I've trained for on my own since the Vegas RnR half two years ago. It's been a challenge to do the long runs on my own. I'm not sure I've done such a stellar job.
• Continue to be a faster-fitter runner. I do think there's a relationship to my recent increase in speed and my overall fitness. I don't write much about my weight, but I am down about 8 pounds. Less weight is certainly less pressure on the joints. 
• To do a century ride. It'll be a new adventure for the herd, training for a century, but we are still in need of a plan.
• To blog more. I like writing about our adventures and my family. It certainly has helped me seek balance in my life (a huge fail this year), but writing regularly forces me to recognize how lucky and blessed I am to be surrounded by great friends and a loving family. When I feel myself getting all self-centered and cranky about what I don't have or what I can't do, I turn to this little blog to remind myself of all I do have and all I can do, and then I bitch-slap myself out of my sulkiness.
• To give back more. (see above)
• To not overbook myself. This is probably the biggest challenge for me. But too often, I have a tendency to overbook myself with work, with play, with family. When we run at Balboa Park, Mik and Betty and Elsie have been crossing over Park Avenue to run through a rose garden on the other side. Mik says: "It doesn't count unless you stop and smell the roses." She's right, it really doesn't.

Happy New Year to all of you! Enjoy the view!

Sunset from La Jolla last week just as the fog rolled in.

And the next morning (from Del Mar - just North of La Jolla)  after the fog rolled back out.

Yep...it doesn't suck to live here - Taken from the Coronado Ferry after Sunday's New Year's Day 29 mile ride. A nice way to start the year!