Stats

Number of runs: 209
Total distance ran: 801.4 miles
– on pavement: 647.7 miles
– on treadmill: 129.7 miles
– on trails: 12.3 miles
– on track: 8.8 miles
– on beach: 3.0 miles
Total time ran: 160:43
Total elevation gained: 19,760 ft

January

Total mileage: 53.6 miles
Best week: 15.0 miles
Best mile: 11:21
Best 5 km: 38:42
I started out the year running my first half marathon, the Walt Disney World Half Marathon! I was ill prepared, but I had a lot of fun. After that, I began training for the Country Music Half Marathon in April.

February

Total mileage: 77.8 miles
Best week: 20.5 miles
Best mile: 9:55
Best 5 km: 32:41
Training for the Country Music Half continued, and I continued to get stronger. I ran the Hot Chocolate 15k in the middle of the month in 1:46:48, which estimated I was on track to run the half marathon in a little over 2:30:00.

March

Total mileage: 101.7 miles
Best week: 28.1 miles
Best mile: 9:01
Best 5 km: 31:25
My first 100+ mile month! To put this in perspective, I had only run about 600 miles total (counting both this year and last!) so one sixth of my entire running mileage was done in this month. I ran the Fangtastic 5k mid-month to a new 5k PR of 31:25 and continued training for the Country Music Half.

April

Total mileage: 84.2 miles
Best week: 24.1 miles
Best mile: 10:01
Best 5 km: 32:05
Shoes Purchased: Skechers GoRun3
I started out the month with my first five mile race, where I performed better than my expectations. Half marathon training continued until the end of the month when I ran the Country Music Half Marathon and achieved a 40 minute PR with a time of 2:27:43!

May

Total mileage: 39.2 miles
Best week: 12.2 miles
Best mile: 10:39
Best 5 km: 34:08
Shoes Purchased: Saucony Kinvara 5
May started off relaxing, but soon geared up to train for a sub-30 5k! Unfortunately, my right knee started hurting early in the month, so my training was derailed to take care of it.

June

Total mileage: 46.5 miles
Best week: 13.9 miles
Best mile: 9:39
Best 5 km: 31:44 (treadmill)
This month started off with the Barrel Fest 5 Miler, but I was still having knee issues, so I was happy just to finish! Due to my ongoing injury and events like Bonnaroo, it turned out to be a lower mileage month. I decided to postpone my sub-30 5k training until later in the year.

July

Total mileage: 62.6 miles
Best week: 16.6 miles
Best mile: 9:29
Best 5 km: 31:29 (treadmill)
My knee was feeling better, so my mileage started to go back up this month. The Music City July 4th 5k kicked off July, but it was hot and I was dehydrated, so I didn’t do as well as I’d hoped. After some ups and downs in training, I decided to start low heart rate training at the end of the month to start gearing up for next year’s half marathons.

August

Total mileage: 54.8 miles
Best week: 18.9 miles
Best mile: 8:53
Best 5 km: 29:15
After the fantastic sub-30 PR I got at the Smyrna Parks 5k at the beginning of the month, I focused on low heart rate training. No speed work. No tempo runs. Nothing with a heart rate about 148. It didn’t last long, as it drove me crazy to run that slow. It also seemed to really mess with my speed and endurance, which I struggled with at the end of the month.

September

Total mileage: 68.3 miles
Best week: 21.2 miles
Best mile: 9:22
Best 5 km: 32:56
The month started with a disappointing race at the Franklin Classic 10k. For most of this month, I was doing the 21 Day Fix program, so I tried to keep my runs a little slower. However, once I got to the beach in Florida for vacation, my feet took off, and I posted some of my speediest times for the entire month. I also got to run barefoot on the beach for the first time!

October

Total mileage: 69.3 miles
Best week: 22.5 miles
Best mile: 9:07
Best 5 km: 30:05
October started with a tweaked ankle. I rested it a week, but soon started on a 33-day running streak to celebrate my birthday. I had two races this month: Go Commando 5k and Halloween Hunt 5 Miler. While no PRs were achieved, both races were a lot of fun!

November

Total mileage: 80.9 miles
Best week: 22.0 miles
Best mile: 8:46
Best 5 km: 29:33
My running streak continued through the first half of November. In the middle of the month, I had a fantastic race at the Hammer Down 10k, where I got a PR of 1:01:49! After that, I began half marathon training for my goal race next March. I hit a bit of a snag at the end of the month, when a sharp pain started in my left foot on a routine 5 miler.

December

Total mileage: 59.7 miles
Best week: 22.2 miles
Best mile: 9:06 (treadmill)
Best 5 km: 31:02 (treadmill)
Due to my foot pain, I skipped out on the 5k I was signed up for at the beginning of the month (my first DNS). After the doctor confirmed there was nothing seriously wrong with my foot, I continued training for my spring half marathons.