Aloha 2011 2012

It's been a long time since I've added a post - a very long time.

I'd best sum up 2011 (mostly from a running perspective, since that was the genesis of this blog, eh):

• I ran every day of 2011
• Total 2011 miles run: 2,649
• Stayed injury free. Woohoo!
  
• I ran more races than is usual for me in one year:
  two 5k's,
  one 10k (my annual Bolder Boulder, 6th 59-year-old female out of 224),
  one 15k (1st 50-59 female),
  one half-marathon
  2 marathons (Deadwood Mickelson Trail which I've wanted to do since the inaugural 10 years ago, placing 1st for 55-59 females - and Grandma's which I've wanted to run since I started running marathons 30+ years ago, placing 20th in my age, running it 13 minutes faster than Mickelson two weeks prior - both fantastic events!)
• Reconnected with a training buddy from pre-kid days which led to greatly improved training quality through the spring and summer

Sadly, in September, my ace running partner, Jester dog, died from a fast-moving cancer. Such a fine dog he was. We were lucky to have him as a member of our family for almost 14 years.

The morose months that followed brightened considerably on December 17th when we adopted a four-month old pup from the Boulder Humane Society (rescued from a shelter in Tulsa). Now named Taz, and believed by our vet to be a purebred Australian Cattle dog, he has been a delightful addition to our family. So far, runs have been no longer than 1/4 mile but he loves his walks and gets extraordinarily excited when he does spot a runner. I'm looking forward to many a mile with Razzamatazz VaughanMiller!

Looking forward to 2012. I've got a plan. A big plan - not a monumentally big plan like 2007's, yet a big enough plan I felt a need to resume blogging. On March 20th, 2012 (the first day of spring and, coincidentally, my 60th birthday) I am planning to run 60 kilometers somewhere around Boulder. I'll be developing several potential routes so I have options to handle whatever weather is thrown my way. I've experienced everything from blizzards to clear trails on my birthday runs; who knows what Mother Nature has in store for the first day of spring this year. I just want to be ready...fit, healthy, happy, and with a route laid out for any possibility!

For those of you interested in training plans, my plan, in general includes Tuesday hills (drills or repeats), Wednesday mid-long run (10-to-15 miles), Thursday rolling hills, Saturday long run (16-to-30 miles), and Sunday mid-long run (8-to- 15 miles). The Saturday/Sunday mileage combo will grow over the next 9 weeks from 24 to 45 miles. Any and all suggestions for training plan improvements would be appreciated!