Run the Year Motto:  Run, Crawl, Walk, Conquer, Dominate 2,016 miles in 2016

April 2016 update:  Overall, mighty tough month – as much mental as physical.  Suffered my first major running injury – IT band (left knee) overuse (fairly common) which resulted in my first DNF (St. Louis) & sidelined me the 2^nd half of the month.

Positives?  Not being able to run (doctor restricted) was probably the kick in the butt I needed.  Taking for granted I could just show up & post 26.2s each weekend without putting in consistent training hours – was a much needed wake up call.

2016 I’ve added ultras, trail marathons & doubles (Saturday/Sunday marathons).  Filled up my marathon calendar from January to December (no exaggeration, already registered for the Death Valley Trail Marathon Sat Dec 3^rd).  But if you look at my ‘Run the Year’ mileage tracker, I’ve been anything but consistent.  Lotta blank spaces Mon-Fri, tens of miles posted each weekend.

2 month focus (May & June): CONSISTENCY

What’s the plan?

Short-term: Working with a physical therapist to get healthy.  Finished my 50 States, April 30^th & May 1^st (2 marathons, 2 states, 2 days).  However, running another double only 2 ½ weeks into therapy, kinda reset the recovery clock back 🙁

Long-term:  Added an accountability partner: Carolyn, an Indiana-based runner I met during an ultra run in New Mexico.  I’ll PR this Fall (sub-4 again), she’ll BQ (Boston qualify).  Can’t fail if you don’t set goals.

Race ReCap:  trail marathon in Kansas (multiple water crossings, fave trail race to date), first marathon fail (at mile 21) in St. Louis, finished state 49 in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois on the 30^th.

Mileage ReCap:  Epic fail; ended April at 601 miles (71 miles short of goal).