Running Recap of 2011 and Goals for 2012

Somehow, during my Peace Corps service, I morphed from someone who ran into a runner. At the start of last "summer" (December) I got it in my head that it was time to start getting more active again. Without the option of hiking every weekend like we had done in Maine, I decided to start running consistently. I had run a fair amount before, including three marathons and 27.5 miles of an ultra, but never consistently or with much dedication.

During 2011, I ran about 230 hours and somewhere around 1700 miles (based on a 8min./mile pace). I also ran an 80k (50mile) ultra and my marathon PR (3:23:56) in Panama, where I also won $500 dollars for being the 4th fastest male foreigner (after the top three overall finishers who were also foreigners, but placed in the open division). I also logged some epic, unsupported training runs of more than 26.2 miles.

After my ultra (and Tarah's 20k)

After the marathon, with Henley "The Beard" Phillips and our cash money

In response to a fellow volunteer's home burning down, some volunteers put together an auction to raise monies to help him and his host family as well as create a emergency fund for future tragedies. Since the victim's site is near ours I decided I would offer:  "[to] personally deliver a hug [from the winning bidder] to the man himself. I would run the ~35k (each direction), give him a hug and buy him lunch." This "service" ended up receiving the highest bid, bringing in 50,000 colones or about $100. I hope to be able to complete this run this coming weekend.

As for my goals for 2012, I hope to log more than 300 hours of running, along with hiking and backpacking a bunch. I also want to run up and down the highest peak in Costa Rica and I have already signed up for a 100k race in Nicaragua and a 50 miler right before we leave Costa Rica in May. I am looking forward to New Mexico, where I can do some actual trail running instead of just running on roads that closely resemble trails. I'd like to try and squeeze a 100 mile race in before the end of 2012, but I don't think that I'm going to have time to adequately train for a race of that distance, with the rest of life (moving, teaching, studying, wedding-ing, becoming an uncle, etc.)going on. In addition to running, I also plan on doing at least 200 flows of yoga before the calendar changes to 2013.