2017 in review

Well, every year I have a post about my running accomplishments.  This year, even though I did a lot, I feel like it was a failure, and I'm not really sure why.  Maybe by the end of the post I'll feel better about what I did because it's all here in black and white.  =) 

2017 was the year of the half marathons.  I ran 4 half marathons, starting with one in January and finishing it with one on December 31st.  It was also a slow half marathon year.  The half I did in January was my slowest to date,

then the San Juan was even slower (by only a few seconds). 

My fastest half was the Leavenworth half at 2:04:12. 

And I ended it with my slowest ever half, the Last Chance Half on New Year's Eve.

I also ran a full marathon in October.  Which turned out to be my slowest marathon (and only my second one).

After 2016 being the year of 5k's, in 2017 I ran zero 5k's.  I ran the Tulip Run in April,

walked Bloomsday with my sister in May,

we participated in the Insane Inflatable 5k (I didn't count that as an actual 5k because we didn't do the whole thing and didn't time ourselves) also in May,

and I ran the Fowl Fun Run 10k in November, getting a PR. 

Three of my 4 half marathons were part of the Washington Half/Full Marathon Series (the Nookachamps didn't count).  And the whole reason I did those 3 half marathons was because I found out that the Tri-Cities Marathon joined that Series, so why not try to get a medal for it?  Which I did.

This year I didn't have any major injuries, like plantar faciitis or a sprained ankle, but I did have a "hip issue" forcing me to take the majority of August off of running, which really put a damper on my marathon training.  After my marathon I ended the year with a "knee issue," which impacted the final half marathon I did.  I believe that both of these "issues" could have been avoided with proper stretching, which I'm horrible at. 

My highest mileage month was September, with 117 miles, and my lowest mileage month was November with 48 miles (which was better than the 36 miles in Nov. of 2015 after my first marathon).  =)

Personally I've felt it was a crappy year, but it really wasn't.  It was just the last few months that were crappy.  Damian graduated high school in June. 

Damian also got to go skydiving, which I've been dying to do since I was in my 20's.

Damian and I also got tattoos together.

Maddox started both baseball and soccer.

Damian got a kayak for his graduation gift and I loved it so much that I bought a paddleboard with him. I spent the majority of my summer on the paddleboard.  It was amazing.

Maddox loved the kayak so much that he was a kayaker for Halloween.  =)

And then in August, right after our vacation, Chris had a stroke, and that is one of the biggest reasons my 2017 felt so crappy.  Not just his stroke, but the recovery of it, which is still ongoing, and the financial side of him only working part time with no end in sight.

2018 won't be a magical new start, but I will do my best to make it better, at least better than 2017 ended.