2012 running all done!

2011 was a big running year for Mrs Notthat and I - it was the first year that we both participated in a lot of races and got a bit serious (I can hear you roll your eyes) about the trails.

So when I started adding up the race stats from 2012, I wasn't sure how it would compare.

Not bad, for me, and YOWZA for Mrs Notthat.

I'm blaming my min/mile increase on the additional elevation, but I think I know better than that. Meanwhile, look at Mrs Notthat's stats:

Those are all huge increases, and in her case, the min/mile increase really is due to the large elevation increase as she took on longer and tougher trail races. As a bit more proof of Mrs Notthat's massive improvement this year, she set PRs at three distances (I set none).

One number that is a bit of a surprise, given that we each did several races that the other didn't do, is that we both ran 44 races this year. Even more bizarre is that we have both done 99 races lifetime - Brazen's New Years Day will be number 100 for both of us!

This is what my haul of finisher medals ended up looking like for 2012:

This was also the year of running with props. The arrow-through-the-head thing got a lot of use.

And of course, there was the sun for CIM.

Diane's haul is also very nice, including a feather boa and tiara. She's not so much into props. Yet.

I would have a hard time picking out a favorite race from last year; Way Too Cool stands out, Brazen's Lagoon Valley will never be forgotten, Coastal's Crystal Springs in January will always stand out since it was the first time I met Pete, and ITR's Santa Cruz with the river crossing was a blast.

I have no idea which ones Mrs Notthat would choose, but I would choose the absurdly moist California International Marathon. She had no desire to do another Marathon, but peer pressure mounted and she was convinced that this was an "easy" one with a net downhill and on-course entertainment. Who knew that the entertainment would be watching runners do the backstroke through the greater Sacramento area. She was in pain and well within her rights to stop, but she hung in there and not only finished, she broke six hours and set a PR!

(I think my most inspiring non-Mrs Notthat moment would also come from that race, watching Eilsel [not her real name], who had also been convinced that this was an easy Marathon, show incredible determination and guts to successfully finish her first Marathon. Totally awesome and inspiring!)

Back in 2011, I came up with a way to display the medals and such, but it was only good for three years, and by the end of 2012, it was maxed out.

So I took over more wall space, spread out a bit, and am now good for three more years. Medals are the kind of thing that are nice when you get them, but then what do you do with them? These mostly just hang around and gather dust. But while redoing this wall, I got to go through them all again, and that brought back a ton of fun memories.

How will 2013 work out? There are three things that are planned that will certainly make the first half of the year pretty special.

• In February we will celebrate our 30th anniversary by going to New Zealand, where we will get to do a couple of trail races if all goes as planned. At the very least we will get to wander around some great trails.

• As we were sitting at home, drying out from CIM, Mrs Notthat stunned me by asking me to put her name into the Way Too Cool lottery. She had never before shown any interest in an Ultra Marathon, so I put her name in so fast she had no chance to rethink it. So early March will also be special. (And hopefully, if it goes well, I'll talk her into doing a race on the Skyline to the Sea trail. And then who knows what might be next!)
• Kcirtap (not his real name) has managed to talk us into attacking the Grand Canyon in May. Not the rim-to-rim-to-rim thing he did last year, but a rim-to-river-and-back thing.

And who knows what the second half of 2013 will bring. One thing's for sure though, we will be spending a LOT of time with our extended running family on many race adventures.

Sadly, props will likely be involved.

That's it - move along…