2012 in 2012: A Look Back

A look back at 2012 miles including many races, many miles and lots of dogs.

January - The year started off strong and I fell in love with my new routine of many 2x a day runs to start building up my strength and endurance.

February - I registered the Miles and Mutts site and attempted to get a perfect photo of my feet plus all three of the dogs feet.  This is far easier said than done, especially when you've got one little beagle with very short little legs in the mix.

March - Ran the Chambersburg Half Marathon, my local half marathon and the race where I ran my first half marathon back in 2010.  Secured a new half-marathon PR.

Ran the HAT Run 50K in lots of rain and mud.  Discovered I do not like running in fields or multiple loop courses.  However, overall, it was still somewhat enjoyable and made me want to keep moving forward.

Although it looks more like I'm just hanging out a picnic, I am actually participating in a race 

April - Took the first shelter dog out for a run.  Xena and I covered 5 miles on our first test at a local rail trail.  She is still available for adoption (anyone need two great running companions?  She and her sister are amazing but need someone who understands high energy hounds!) and has run the most miles out of any of the shelter dogs.

First run!  Thank you to my neighbor who I just happened to run into to ask for a picture.

Ran the Gettysburg North-South Marathon, secured a new marathon PR, all while taking a tour of every Port-O-Potty on the course.

May - Ran the 5K-9 with Hannah.

Ran the Capon Valley 50K.  This was the best trail ultra adventure up to that point.  The weather was great and the course was great.  This race made me want to stick with trail events after all.

Decided Miles and Mutts was 100% worth the time and energy I was devoting to it during a run with Cricket.

June - Had the kinks worked out to allow the first volunteers to join Miles and Mutts.

Ran Highlands Sky 40 Mile which is the race I'm most proud of up to this point in my little running hobby.  It is also by far the most unique and gorgeous race I've ever participated in.  This is definitely the best race experience of the year.  If you like trail events - this is a must do!

July - Ran a 5K on the 4th, secured a new 5K PR and started to re-focus and gain motivation to start gear up for fall training and the JFK 50 Mile.

August - Ran a 5 Mile race with my husband and a friend, where my husband completed his longest race so far.  The next day, ran the Half-Wit Half trail half and enjoyed another day in the woods.

September - Ran another 5K with Hannah to benefit Better Days Animal League.  Several of the shelter dogs were also able to partipate!

Pretty sure I was questioning Hannah's inability to beat the old guy in this picture!

October - Struggled with running while preparing for the JFK 50 miler but managed to have a great time at Freedom's Run Marathon.  Faced my first DNS for a 50K as I faced burnout on work, running and pretty much everything in between.

November - Struggled, but made it through the JFK 50 Mile.  I learned a lot about myself that day.  Being alone on a boring, familiar path for hours upon hours on end will do that to you.

Early in the day, when I was having fun

Late in the day, not as fun, but finally seeing the finish line

The next day, we had our largest Miles and Mutts group yet.  We were able to get 9 dogs out for a run.  A slightly ironic contrast to what I felt the day before.

December - Wrapped up the year with easy running and no specific plans.  However, being lost without a goal, I decided to go for 2012 miles in 2012.  As of today, I'm only 24 miles away from this goal so looks like it'll happen!

I'm also incredibly thankful for what Miles and Mutts is evolving into and am looking forward for an exciting 2013, hopefully with a bit more giving back all around in terms of running.