Happy New Year!

2017: a year in review

I thought I'd do the Instagram #bestnine thing, but not actually post it on Instagram. The blog seems like a better place for it.

I was hoping to somehow be creative with this post, but I'm pretty sure this will just end up being a regular recap of 2017. That's how you grab a reader's attention! 

I had set some ambitious goals for myself for 2017. I knew I was going to have to work hard, and I was ready to do it. The goals were as follows: 

• Sub-1:35 half marathon
• sub-3:20 marathon
• sub-4:10 50K (road)
• sub-13:00 ENDURrun
• sub-20 5K
• 7:30 50 miler

The order I listed the goals is also the order that I intended to achieve them. The races I had lined up for these goals were (click the links for the full write ups):

• Chilly Half Marathon (March) - it was a cold day, but was pretty much perfect racing weather for a late winter race. The roads were clear and dry and it wasn't overly windy. I had a great race here and finished in 1:32:01. 
• Boston Marathon (April) - it was a HOT day! There was no good race result this day as I went into survival mode early when I stopped sweating. I still had a fun time away with the club, and we were all able to laugh about our horrible races. 
• Niagara Ultra 50K (June) - another HOT day... and an injured toe going into the race... not a good combination. I ended up doing a lot of walking in the second half and hanging out at aid stations chatting with the volunteers a bit while I drank lots and lots of fluids. It was one of the hottest races I've ever run. I finished this one in 4:53, my second slowest 50K. 
• ENDURrun (August) - I had a better week than I ever would have imagined! It was such an incredibly rewarding experience to take chances and try things that I wouldn't have normally thought I was capable of. I finished the week in 12:33:56, in a very close race, with 2nd place female only 6:38 back after a week of racing.
• Fall Classic 5K (October) - Humid and warm day, but a downhill course, so the weather didn't affect things too much. I guess a cool, dry day would have produced even FASTER times. I'm certainly not complaining about anything with this race. I ran my first sub-20 and it was by a lot! I ran 19:11, which I would put an * next to due to the gradual downhill of the course, and call it more of a 19:30ish equivalent, but either way... I was definitely happy with that result! Now I just need to do it on a more honest course. :)
• JFK 50 Miler (November) - It was cold rain for a big chunk of the race. It didn't go as I had hoped, but it did go a lot better than last year. I finished the race in 8:09:10.  

Did I achieve all of the goals? No. 

Did I achieve most of them? Yes! 

I achieved all of the non-ultra goals, but the marathon didn't happen at Boston, I actually ran my first sub-3:20 marathon on the final stage of The ENDURrun (3:16:55).

Although I did not achieve the 50K and 50 mile goals, I did actually run a new 50K PR in the fall at Run for the Toad trail 50K, 4:22. 

Moving on to 2018...

Do I attempt the ultra goals since I missed them last year? I don't think so. That's not the plan at this point, anyway. I want to take this year to focus on marathons and shorter distances, but we'll see how the year unfolds. 

Happy new year to you all!

Niagara Ultra 50K - June 17, 2017

Well... the Niagara Ultra 50K happened. It wasn't pretty, but it happened.

As I mentioned in my last post.... I hurt my big toe on my left foot by stupidly kicking a stump (accidentally, of course, but I should have been paying more attention) while running at Chicopee. I had hoped it would be pain free by race day, but I was not so lucky. It's nothing super painful, but it's there. It's an annoyance, and it's something that makes the body try to adjust or compensate... and well, it's never a good thing when that happens.

The race may not have gone all that well, but overall, it was fun weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake with Heather and Andrew.

They picked me up on Friday after work and we headed straight to number pickup to get our numbers and sweatshirts. This race always has nice hoodies, with a different colour each year. This year was black.

After we picked up our stuff, we checked in, then headed out for dinner. Well, "out"... we were eating in the same building where we were staying.

After dinner and a couple drinks, it was time to think about sleeping. Morning was going to come quick. I got into bed, set my alarm for 4:50am and went to sleep. I slept not badly. I only remember waking up once, so that's not bad at all. Got up with my alarm, and headed out the door to walk to Tim Horton's for a coffee and bagel. I was walking back (it was about a km walk each way), trying to eat my bagel and spilled coffee all over my arm. haha. Whoops! At least I didn't spill TOO much and still had more to drink. :)

Got back to my room, showered quick, got ready for the race and headed out. As soon as I put on my running shoes, I knew things were not going to be great. I had discomfort just with wearing shoes. I hoped this would go away quickly, but as I walked to the race, it just remained.

I arrived at the race with enough time to eat a couple of tim bits, hit the port-a-potties, say hi to Dave, and get lined up.

The race itself:

• I felt the toe with pretty much every running step
• I was able to mostly ignore it for about an hour
• The side of my foot started to hurt.. crap.. I've altered my gait
• Walked some to try to "reset" my running gait
• The toe felt ok when I walked
• I walked too much because of the above
• Thought maybe I'll drop when I get to 30K. That's still a solid long run.
• Spent too much time at aid stations in the shade, but had fun chatting with the volunteers, who were amazing!
• Decided at 30K that I'd finish the race. I could walk the last 20K and be under the time cut-off.
• It was hot
• It was humid
• I was drenched in sweat
• Finished 5th woman in 4:53, my 2nd slowest 50K.

I guess I need to come back again for a revenge run. :) It is a great race. Super well organized and a great course.

Now... some photos. The first two are from Dave and the 3rd is what I posted on Instagram on Saturday:

A post shared by Vicki Zandbergen (@vickizandbergen) on Jun 17, 2017 at 11:12am PDT

Since the race, I haven't run. I want this toe to heal completely, but it's driving me nuts how long it's taking. It's not like I truly injured myself (well, I guess maybe I did.... ), all I did was kick a small stump when running.... that's all! How many times have I tripped on a rock or a root or even a sidewalk or curb and been fine? So many. Oh well. It will get better. Hopefully very soon.

Next up race wise.... I'm not sure. Possibly Limberlost, but I'm not going to sign up just yet. I have a mile race next month and then ENDURrun in August.