Way back at the beginning of the year, I wasn’t sure I would be able to put together a racing season like I just completed. I was coming off a few injuries, including a broken foot from a car accident back in March of 2012, and pretty severe PF. Last year at this time I took a full month off from running after the Skinny Turkey Half Marathon last Thanksgiving Day. I was tired, broken down, and desperately wanted to heal, and feel good again. This was the best thing I could have done for myself. After I began to slowly train again after Christmas, I felt renewed. I wasn’t sure what the new year would bring, but I was cautiously optimistic.
Last January, after completing many successful short runs, I decided it was time to set some goals. My body was starting to respond well to training, so I thought, what the hell, lets’s set some lofty goals. What came to mind was this. My favorite number is 13. I was born on the 13th, and so was one of my sons. It just turned 2013. Why not try to complete 13 Half and Full Marathons combined throughout the course of 2013? I felt good about this goal, I felt it was doable, lofty, yet not over the top. So there it all began, and my planning was about to begin.
My goal would kick off with the Asheville Marathon at Biltmore Estate, a race I had signed up for back in the Fall of 2012. I also had an entry for the Blue Ridge Marathon already booked at that time, so I just needed to fill in the blanks to get me to the magical number thirteen.
Planning for race seasons is so much fun. I wanted to try some new races this year, but also run some tried and true races from previous years to see if I could better my times. The following list is my races that got me to my goal this year, and even beyond!
March 3- Asheville Marathon 4:08:47
March 17- Tobacco Road Half Marathon 1:41:10
April 14- RunRaleigh Half Marathon 1:40:21
April 20- Blue Ridge Marathon 4:04:59
May 19- NCRC Invitational Half Marathon 1:45:50
June 1- Lookout Capital Half Marathon 1:46:22
August 8- The 35th Tromptown Run Half Marathon 1:44:43
September 21- Johnson Lexus Half Marathon 1:43:43
September 27- Asheville Citizen Times City Marathon 3:45:12
October 6- RunRaleigh Fall Half Marathon 1:42:09
October 20- Bull City Race Fest Half 1:44:05
October 27- Hallowed Half Marathon 1:39:00
November 3- Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon 3:32:24
My goal was completed here at my hometown marathon! 13 in 2013! And a new marathon PR to cap it off. I did it! But just for good measure, I decided to add another race to the mix, in case. So, 14 days later, I completed another marathon, and joining an exclusive club along the way.
November 17- Rock n Roll Las Vegas Marathon 3:41:41
Just an amazing year. I completed 9 Halves, and 5 Full marathons on my way to smashing my 2013 goal. All I can say, is how in the world can I top that in 2014? Time will tell. Back to the drawing board, the planning stages. Here’s hoping that 2014 will be injury free and fun as hell.
What are you planning for your 2014 running calendar?
Running Wild 
Congrats on a job well done!
Thanks! It really was a fantastic year.
Very well done. I hadn’t realised that you had such problems with injuries at the start of the year. That is just an amazing achievement to have done so much 🙂
Thanks! The time off really helped, and served me well this year. I always hate taking time off, but sometimes it is just necessary.
It must have done! All those races, amazing 🙂
Awesome achievements for 2013, well done. Bring on 2014
Thank you!
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Congrats on your times. They look very consistent and that was a nice PR you had in Vegas. Good luck in 2014
Thank you! Planning a fun 2014 now.
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