Thank you, 2012

You were a great year 2012.  A kickoff year to my 50 state challenge that saw me visit 13 states and run a total of 183.4 marathon miles (this includes DC).  Many of these states I visited for the first time and many I got to enjoy with friends and family. 

So a quick recap.  2012 kicked off running Austin visiting my very good friend Jodi, then taking to the streets of DC on a tour of our nation’s capital, followed by a road trip with Carla to Wilmington, then taking to the skies traveling to Albuquerque for a race with my good friend Doug, then back to my home state of New Jersey, followed by a trip to Cleveland for a fun wedding and my first “hangover marathon,” then keeping it local in the Midwest with a trip to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, before switching gears and heading to the beaches of Fairfield for the hilliest 13 miles to date, and then to Chi-Town where I saw my very good friend Amanda, then up to Providence on a road trip with Maria and her husband Rich, only to see them accompany me again to run through the historic streets of Philadelphia, followed by another historic run over the hills of Antietam, then being joined by hundreds of NYC marathoners  in Manchester after a cancellation due to Hurricane Sandy, before finally capping the year in historic Annapolis.

The challenge continues through 2013 where I will be crossing the halfway mark by year’s end.  I hope everyone keeps up with the journey!

Maryland race day

I think I may have discovered my new pre race formula for 2013.  It involves making sure I get three hours sleep, consumption of lots of beer, an intense week of happy hours,  and little to no stretching.  Apparently it's a winner because on it I was able to close 2012 with a 1:38:44 marathon time.  Success!

Friday night my very good friend Susan had her annual holiday party, and like every year it was a great time.  The kind of fun night with friends that you never want to end.  But, with 13.1 miles awaiting me in the morning, I made the effort to get to bed at a decent hour.  Decent hour = 1:30 am.  Wake up time:  4:45 am. 

I was meeting my friend Teresa at the race.  She's among the fastest runners I know and incredibly modest about it.  She had a great race finishing in 1:42 and FIRST in her age group.

This was a fun race.  It was foggy morning so we couldn't really get that many views of the Severn river when going over the bridge but got to see all parts of Annapolis running through downtown and by the Naval Academy.  I finished with a 7:32 pace, 26 in my age group, and 207 overall.

Not a bad way to close the year. Up next:  New Orleans

Early and cold

Start/finish line

Me and my good friend Teresa

The obligatory steak & eggs