2016 Year-end Report
Your goals coming into the year, and were they achieved?
Run my first 100 miler (achieved) and become more consistent with health/diet (see disappointment).
New accomplishments or PRs in 2016:
50 mile PR: 11:05
First 100 mile: 27:22
Your proudest and/or best race (or segment within a race):
I guess I'd have to say finishing my first 100, as it had been on my mind for the better part of two years. The fact that I struggled pretty badly during the first 50 miles and rallied during the final 50 miles made it feel even better.
A race or race training disappointment during 2016:
Not necessarily race or training, but I really wanted to get my diet in line in 2016 as I've always struggled greatly with sugar/carbs and my dad is diabetic so long-term that's a huge concern for me. I did a great job during the middle part of the year in reducing my sugar/carb intake and increasing consumption of healthy fats. No disappointment there, but I've completely fallen off the wagon over the past three months. I've run very little and my diet is beyond horrible.
Such a terribly disappointing way to end the year.
Total training volume during 2016:
I don't have this on hand, but I think I'll end the year on the drastically lower side of what I wanted (1100-1200 miles-ish)? A bulk of that was in April-September, with extremely low mileage early and late in the year.
Best memories of other guys’ training or races in 2016:
My best memories are similar to what others have mentioned though particularly
@SFBayDuck getting drawn for his shot at WSER glory. The lottery was exciting to watch. But honestly what I've enjoyed most is seeing the level of perseverance here amongst everyone that posts. That goes from the elite (Steve's Olympic chase), to posters starting running for the first time, to everyone chipping in with possible solutions for those in need of injury/health/other advice. This is an incredible and inspiring community.
Oddest or funniest experiences (yours or one of the other guys):
Pooptastrophe 2016
And let me also say:
Though I don't post enough to be one of the "regulars," the level of openness that the regulars exude is awesome. Definitely makes you feel welcome no matter how much you're in the thread.
Goal(s) for 2017:
I've been giving this a lot of thought lately. I'm going to kick sugar/carb addiction once and for all. I feel so crappy when I'm consuming sugar and so great when I'm not that it's all about having the discipline to stick to a healthy lifestyle. Motivation comes and goes, but discipline doesn't once you can establish it. I've gone from a college-esque low of 178lbs in early September to a lethargic 192lbs currently. Time to get disciplined and stay disciplined.
Secondly, I'm now in the "need to run Western States" camp with an itch that needs to be scratched. With limited local qualifying options, I'm going to give a go of the Kettle Moraine 100 in Wisconsin in early June in lieu of running the Superior 100 again in September. If all else was equal, I'd run the Superior 100 without a second thought. Love love love that trail. But with the training time requirement and two young children, I figure it best to incur the heavy training over the February to May timeframe when the weather here is mediocre and then be able to enjoy the summer with the family than to put another year of heavy training in during the prime summer months of June through August for a September race. Running 100 mile races is a bit selfish, so I'm attempting to mitigate that selfishness just a bit.
The Kettle Moraine 100 is a far more runnable race than the Superior 100 with something like 9000 feet each of elevation gain and loss. I'm more of a grinder as pure running is not my strongsuit so I'll aim for a finish first and foremost, and then hope I can do it in the 24-26 hour range.
Happy Holidays to all and have a safe and enjoyable New Year!