2012 IN REVIEW

Happy New Year! Even though the year presented some ups and some downs I was able to  improve my time and cross something off my “bucket list”…..the Chicago Marathon.

My first race of 2012 was to be the Inaugural Southern Illinois Spring Classic Half Marathon on 3/12/2012. The bad news was due to an upper respiratory infection I was forced to divert to the 5k. I had literally taken the last of my antibiotics a day or two before the race. The good news was I still ran the race in less than 30 minutes which was a personal best.

My second race for 2012 was the Southern Indiana Classic Marathon held on 4/14/2012.  Since I was unable to adhere to my training schedule during illness I adjusted and ran the half marathon. I was able to complete that race in 2:09:16.

After that  I signed up for and  began training for Chicago in October.  In September for training purposes I ran the Komen 5k which is a significant race for me as it was my first race ever.  That was in 2007 and in five years I had come a long way…..literally.  I was feeling good and was able to attain a personal best in that 5k…… 28 minutes flat.

On October 7   I ran the Chicago Marathon in 4:57:06, a personal best for me. I made it 20 miles without having to stop and walk, also a personal best for me. I had signed up to run Chicago in 2011 and was forced to drop out due to a right adductor tear (a groin pull in layman’s terms). This made coming back and running the Chicago Marathon particularly satisfying.

All in all 2012 proved to be very good year.  In my next blog I am going to look forward to my goals for 2013.   Best wishes for a happy, healthy and injury free new year!  Now lace up those shoes and let’s get running!

Art Davis