Clay Has the Runs: 2014 Recap

2014 Started off looking as if it would be my best ever statistically, then ended with some setbacks and disappointments. But it was perhaps my most fun overall.

January 1 - Day one Trail Run. This was a great way to start out the year. I'm signed up for this one again 1/1/15 and talked a few friends into running with me.

February 1 - CIGNA Mayors Race - Believe it or not, after 4 years of running, I ran my first ever 5k. Clocked a 22.55 and was 8th place overall. I may never see that again.
February 2 - First Ultra Marathon - Cowtown Sunday. My first ultra marathon. I ran it easy, felt exceptionally strong between miles 19-27 and had better time at the end than I expected 5:21:44 and I walk/ran the last couple miles.

March 23 - Rock N Roll Dallas Half - PR which I had held for two years finally fell. I finished in 1:45:10. Best feeling ever those last 5 miles which were all downhill.

May 27 - OKC Marathon One of the craziest weekends ever. A scheduled road trip to Oklahoma City with the DRC was thrown off schedule. Our chartered bus showed up 4 hours late causing us to miss the marathon expo and packet pickup. Luckly we had friends in OKC who picked up the couple dozen plus packets. Not only was our arrival delayed but so was the race, due to severe thunderstorms. The 6:30 am race did finally get underway at about 8:30 am, but caused the tail end of running to happen during the heat of the morning. As you expect, it made it rough for some. I ran the whole thing easy, because I was just using the race to qualify to be a Marathon Maniac. The road trip was still fun, made new friends.

July 13 - El Scorcho 50k - I knew I was nuts for signing up for this. And it was just as difficult as I expected. I almost gave up after the the 6th 5k loop as I was cramping up badly. So I just sat for 30 minutes, rehydrated, got salts in me then started back up and grinded out the last 4 loops fighting back cramps the whole way. I knew I had a 7 hour deadline and I finished in 6:47. I said I would never do that again. But I'm already thinking of trying it again in July.

August 28 - Clay out incident #4. OK so the first time, I didn't even know what happened to me, I survived it after running alone and a neighbor spotted me on the side of the road in agony and took me home. The 2nd time it happened (Dallas Marathon 2012), I knew what happened but didn't know exactly what caused it and didn't know how to prevent it. The third time I had friends witness it and found out what causes it after spending 2 hours in the ER and getting the talk from coach Steve. This fourth time was just stupidity. Don't run and forget to take in electrolytes, then start taking them after an hour into the run when the temps and humidity are approaching 90. There will not be a #5. Yeah, yeah, I know I said that after #3.

October 17-18 - Ragnar Relays - The most fun I have ever had. A weekend of camping, which I had never done before, running, food, and friends. It doesn't get any better than that. The race itself was tougher than I thought it would be, probably because I half-ass trained for it. I will be ready next time

November 11 - The fall. During a non scheduled run which I should not have been doing, I was running one night, tripped over a bump in the street and landed directly on my left knee. It seemed to be a minor injury, I even finished out the 4 miler with not much issue. Over weeks it seemed to re-aggravate over and over. I thought I was good to go a couple times only to re-aggravate it again. After taking an extended amount of time off running, it seems to be nearly healed up. Hopefully I won't be talking about this knee when the new year starts.

I'm heading into 2015 going the right direction. I've already written out a fitness plan plan for myself and have implemented it a couple weeks ago. Not a running plan, but a fitness plan. So far so good. My goal is to be in the best fitness that I can possibly be in. That means incorporating a variety of different workouts, not just running. I also at some point plan on buying a bike and mix in some riding. I figure if I train as if i am an athlete, then my running will be elevated.

Favorite photos of 2014
I'm fortunate to have so many folks who are constantly taking pictures on runs.