All things considered 2016 was a great year.

I joined not one but 2 running groups.  The Somerville Road Runners is the local road running group that I do most of my weekly runs with.  I have run with them in the past unofficially but 2016 was the year that I wanted to really get involved.  It has been a great support finding other runners in my pace group.

Trail Animals Running Club is the trail running group in the area. Their reach is wide (runners in most New England states) and their energy is contagious.  It is really fun to see runners from all levels and abilities meeting huge goals at some of the TARC ultra races.  I hope to do the Spring Classic trail marathon in April.

Volunteering with these two clubs was a priority of mine this year.  Volunteering really made me feel like I'm giving back to such a great community of runners (both road and trail runners) who have helped me in this pursuit of mine and it's a ton of fun.  I hope to have time in 2017 to continue do this.

My running calendar took a bit of a hit this year due to abdominal surgery in the fall.  I took two months completely off and I'm pleased to say that I am back to running somewhat consistently again.  Surgery was without a doubt the necessary and best route and I'm already feeling much better than I did pre-surgery.  Even with those two months rest, I was still only 10 miles off of last year's mileage.  I hit 690 miles this year!  PTL!

Also in 2016!

I bought my first pair of Hokas!  Hoka One One Cliftons.  They're nice :)

And...my first hydration vest, the Nathan Fireball. Now I can carry tons of water and snacks.  Convenient!

And...finally made running on trails a regular occurrence.  I'm still pretty slow at it but oh well!

Between a slow start to the year, surgery and then recovery from surgery, I've learned many lessons in 2016.  Trust, patience, perseverance are just a few.  I trust that God has a plan in everything.  Sure, I was anxious at times but reminders of God's past faithfulness lead me to trust and produced in me patience to seek/wait for the solutions and the perseverance to keep on.  

I ran a lot of 14 minute miles this year as I was figuring out my health issues because running slow was better than not running at all.  "A mile is a mile".  I took a lot of encouragement from that common saying.  I hope to carry this same hope into the new year.  My theme for 2017 is "Going for it".  Life is too short and injuries are too common :) First, the trail marathon.  Then...a 50?  Who knows!  I'm just going to go for it and see what happens.

Enjoy this short video I made of my last run of the year.  Let it encourage you to keep on and to appreciate even those toughest workouts.  God has a plan in everything!

Two thumbs up for tonight's run.  I was scheduled to do 6 miles and was able to have my friend Adele who is visiting from out of town run with for half it.  First of all, it was a beautiful day and evening and I picked a route in the West part of town that I really enjoy doing even though I have to walk a lot on the hills.  

Though the pace was slow, I'm still proud to say it was steady.  We did not walk AT ALL and only had to stop at a couple of stop lights.  I was for sure tired at the end but gained a lot of confidence.

Selfie after our run

I have been working on not taking so many walk breaks and trying to get mentally tougher when it comes to pushing through tiredness.  Tonight was definitely a victory.  6 miles.  The farthest I've gone in a while and the end to the first official week of marathon training.

Yep, you read that right!  Marathon training. 

The goal race is the TARC Spring Classic Marathon the end of April.  It is a trail race in Weston, MA put on by my running group, the Trail Animals Running Club.  I figure even though I've never done a trail race it will be a good low key intro back into running. I'm really just looking to get back into a running routine and do my best!  No pressure.

Check the blog from time to time for training updates :)  Also, I'll definitely be updating my upcoming races page soon as I plan out 2017.  Exciting times!