Year In Review

As 2022 comes to a close in less than an hour, time to look back briefly on the year gone by. First, mileage (rounded to nearest mile), and marathons run in those months:

Jan    211    -    Dopey Challenge

Feb    179    -    Mesa Marathon (sub-3!!!) and Wilmington Marathon

Mar    195    -    Shamrock Marathon

Apr    157    -    Boston 2 Big Sur

May    190

Jun    230

Jul    258    -    Interesting, my highest mileage month includes the time I spent off work given a positive COVID test

Aug    235

Sep    199

Oct    201    -    St. George Marathon and Marine Corps Marathon

Nov    175    -    New York City Marathon

Dec    174

Total    2402

Always fascinating to see how the mileage dips during months with races in them, especially months where I run two marathons. That's because I take approximately a week off from running. Any time I spend on the elliptical isn't counted in these totals, even though it is additional cardio and time spent working the legs to some extent.

And lately, for this month, I've spent more time than I like on the elliptical because I've had some sort of intermittent strain in my right thigh. Sometimes I can run through it and it works itself out on the day, but there are other days that I can tell within about 1-5 seconds that trying to do so would cause a bad injury, so I get off the treadmill and go on the elliptical instead. Still gets me some cardio, and is never painful for my thigh.

So, what's on tap for 2023? At the moment, a surprisingly "calm" list of races. Dopey (my last) next week, Mesa (trying for sub-3 #2) in Feb, and Boston in April. I'm already signed up for Chicago. I'll sign up for the MCM 50k once registration opens (since I have my deferral from 2020 that must be used or lost), and likewise will sign up for NYC again once it opens. Apart from those six, I'm hoping that I'll be able to manage a trip Down Under this fall, timed well enough so that I can run the Sydney Marathon - before it likely becomes the 7th Major in a few years and getting in becomes nigh impossible. Will I have more to run? Possibly. Partly depends on whether I think I have any chance of doing well overall in Abbott Age Group or not. (Can I get two sub-3's? This will be the last year I actively attempt the Age Championships.) 

I may take on some race pacing -- I would certainly like to do that more frequently. And if I can knock off some additional states in the process, all the better. That may tick up a bit starting in 2024, as I will no longer be doing Disney in January, and doubt I'll do Mesa a third time. So, my dance card in 2024 will be open before Boston and otherwise empty apart from MCM and NYC in the fall. I can't very well "just" have three marathons in 2024, now, can I? :-)