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Miles and Goals

I'm not organized enough to write a real year-end recap, but I couldn't resist posting my DailyMile summary graph and looking back at the miles I ran in 2011.

Last year in January, I was recovering from a six month battle with a bulging disc in my lower back. I slowly began building my mileage back. Mindful of the long period I'd been unable to run, I took it easy and enjoyed simply being out there.

This chart shows total miles including walking, cycling, hiking ...
This shows the miles I ran: 1158

My longest run in 2011 was Highlands Sky 40 Miler. I was ecstatic to run a PR there.

I also ran three 50K trail races, a road marathon, a trail half marathon, a 10 mile trail race, two 5 milers and three 5K races (one of which was supposed to be a 10k).

Races I ran this year:
40 M - 1 (PR)
50 K - 3
26.2 M - 1 (PR)
13.1 M - 1
10 M - 1
5 M - 2
5 K - 3 (PR)


This year, I'm excited about running more miles. I enjoyed the structured training I did in preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon, even if I didn't love running all those miles on the roads

I'm especially looking forward to running my favorite trail race of all, the Laurel Highlands 70 Miler. It's a challenging, beautiful, ever-changing, close-to-magical trail in southwest Pennsylvania. Every section has different flora. Come race day in June, the wildflowers are everywhere.

A stream bed on the Laurel Highlands trail

Running Laurel Highlands 70 Miler in 2006
Posing for a moment among a fields of ferns as far as the eye can see
I ran this race in 2006, and had a fantastic day out there. It took me just over 19 hours, and I'm hoping to better my time this year.

My check has been mailed. Now all I have to do is put in the training miles this Spring.

I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge. But mostly, I'm excited to run the miles.



14 comments:

  1. I feel like it was just yesterday we were riding bikes and complaining about our butts! so glad you had a happy and healthy year as a runner, my friend. and 70 miles, badass.

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  2. Wow! That's a lot of miles. When is the Laurel Highlands? Looks challenging, but fun.

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  3. I'm always impressed by the number of miles that you log, both in races and training!

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  4. Love reading your blog and look forward to seeing what you do in 2012!

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  5. wow, Kir, those are some serious miles! I think I had one 200+ month this year and the rest hovered in the 180s. Great work and so good to have a goal like Laurel Highlands to keep you focused for the spring. See you at G2G?

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  6. What's your goal this year? PR'ing my 70-miler. No big deal :) Have so much fun training on the trails this year. I hope to join you after June!

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  7. Whoops, I should have made the caption bigger. No, I didn't run any 200 mile months! I added my "month by month" chart that reflects just my running miles. It's not as pretty.

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  8. I love Laurel Highlands! I barely missed 3000 miles, which shocked me, but then again, I don't have much of a life. I hope that some of our miles are shared in 2012.

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  9. I love this kind of stats! Good job! And have a great 2012. Keep on training!

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  10. Great job! I miss NoVA and the DC area......hope to get back there soon.

    - Bull

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  11. Love the stats! I love the pic of you on the trail amongst the ferns. If there were places like that in Toronto, I'd be taking to the trails on a regular basis!! Best of luck with your 2012 season!

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  12. What a great year you had. You deserved it after that stupid injury. Thanks for sharing your end of the year report. I love it.

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  13. I love the focus on the actual act of running—not the sexy finish-line moments, but the miles that come before it. You're all set up to have a strong, happy 2012, running-wise and otherwise!

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