The good, the bad, and the ugly. A look back at 2012

With one day left in 2012, I decided to take a look back on the past year.  It ended up being very interesting and a mixed bag of results.  Things were good at times.  There were bad times and it got ugly sometimes.  In deciding if this year was a success or not.  It really depends on how you look at it.  I enjoyed some of the biggest successes in 2012 and I had some massive fails this year too.  I learned a lot from those fails and have been working hard the past two months so they do not happen again.

The good:  Coming in too 2012.  I had never won my age group or placed in a race.  Not only did I do that, but I placed first in my group 3 times this year.  Even winning my group in my first ever olympic distance triathlon.  Speaking of triathlons,  I completed my first ever Triathlon this year.  It had been a goal of mine for a long time and it was an experience i'll never forget.

The Bad:  The 2013 Cleveland Marathon.  This race was a complete debacle.  When I talk to anybody who ran this race.  We never mention our times.  This race wasn't about time, it was about survival and the will to not let the weather get to you.  I think everyone who ran this race looks at the their finish medal and considers it a badge of honor.  Still,  I was pretty crushed with how this race went and it was months before I did another road race.  I spent over 100 hours preparing for this race and it just wasn't my day.  I guess thats just a life lesson.

The ugly:  Rev3 Sandusky.  I really mishandled the preparation for this race and had a mild panic attack while thinking about swimming 1.2 miles in Lake Erie.  Doing your first ever Triathlon then your first half ironman 6 weeks later ended up being a bigger task than I anticipated.  I spent so much time getting my swim endurance, that my bike and run suffered and I made the decision to DNS.  The good news is that I learned a lot from this whole experience.  I get asked a lot if I regret my decision not to start the race.  No, I am not upset with my decision.  I tried my best to get ready and wasn't able too.  I'll never be ashamed of trying my best.  I'm looking forward to finishing what I started and returning to this race in 2013.  I'm already counting down the days and my official training will begin on 3/3/2013.

You'll notice that I haven't mentioned much about 2013 in this point.  Good news!!  I was asked back to be an Official Cleveland Marathon Blogger for a 3rd year!  Look for my first post next week in which I will discuss next year!


Training totals:

Swimming:  41 miles

Running:  1,029 miles

Cycling:  3,738

Total miles in 2012: 4,809

Hours spent training:  404 hours 39 minutes 49 seconds

Calories burned:  362,659


Races completed in 2012:

Pigskin Classic 5K
Twinsburg Turkey Trot 5 miler
Midtown 10K
Akron Marathon Relay
Vermilion Triathlon - 1st in AG
MS 150:  Pedal to the Point
Fairport Harbor Triathlon
Lorain Summer Sprint Triathlon - 1st in AG
CrossFit Duathlon - 1st in AG
Twinsburg Duathlon
Cleveland Marathon
Shamrock 15K
St. Malachi 5 miler
Twinsburg Indoor Triathlon