After taking mostly off the rest of November after the NYC Marathon on 11/7, I slowly started running more. With the NYC Half looming on 3/20/22, I wanted to build a decent base before training really kicks off in the New Year.

There were some warmer days, which was really helpful for the motivation. I love ‘long-sleeve shirt with shorts’ weather the most for runs. I also got back to the gym and hit some PRs in the big lifts (squats and deadlifts, but also bench press). After a 15-mile week 12/6-12/12, I decided to go all in in my march back toward the 30-mpw range. I’m not there quite yet (26 miles times two), but the consistency of running 5 days a week feels pretty good.

Mini December Highlights:

• Treadmill Progression 5K on 12/18 – only 2.5 minutes off my (non-tread) PR
• Found a lovely new route near me
• Central Park tempo run 12/14
• I squeezed in runs on trips to Las Vegas, Virginia, and Delaware, including an 8-mile long run 12/26

General 2021 Running Reflections:

So of course I’m disappointed with how many miles I got in 2021; on the other hand, I’m glad I was able to get through my injury and move forward. I wish I had sought diagnosis and treatment earlier. I’m glad I was able to fun run the NYC Marathon, even if my heart wasn’t totally into training for it. There was a little bit of “why bother” since I knew I wouldn’t be near my best. My fitness has also improved over the last quarter of 2021 and I’m excited to try and race some PRs in 2022.

2022 Fitness Goals:

• consistency. 5 running days a week is the goal
• PRs in pretty much every distance *unsure of which ones I’ll definitely race besides 5K, 10K, and half marathon, but perhaps 10 Miler, marathon, and some shorter-medium stuff)
• SAM/MYRTLS and CoreX 2-3x a week
• Continue my strength training and heavy lifting PRs
• I want to be able to do a chin-up. Having fun with the assisted dip machine but should try doing negatives too
• Un-committing to taking any group fitness classes this year (I took a few when Covid numbers were lower but am going to pass on it this year. Zoom yoga will do just fine).
• See a health professional if things don’t feel right
• Massage and acupuncture more regularly

That’s it for now! I’m erring on the side of caution a bit, but still hoping to knock down some of my 2017 and 2018 best times (and that one 8K PR from 2019).