My 2020 in Running and Biking!

Totals: 

• Running: 772.5 miles
• Biking: 372.8 miles

Races: 

• Southern Tour Ultra team relay in Wilmington, NC on January 18th
• One City Half Marathon in Newport News, VA on March 1st
• Taco Trot Virtual 5k
• Monument 10k virtual 
• Marine Corps Marathon virtual

Longest run: 26.2

Longest ride: 23.8

That’s it! 

The year began in splendid fashion by taking a road trip with several friends to Wilmington, NC to run the Southern Tour Ultra as a team relay event. I think I ended up with 16 miles by the end of the day. It was fun, cold, and muddy! But a fantastic way to start the year!

I’m so grateful that I got to run the One City Half Marathon. It was the last big race in person before the lockdown started. I really enjoyed running in my hometown. If I knew this would be the last “normal” race for the foreseeable future, I would have soaked in even more of every moment! The Shamrock Marathon weekend was supposed to happen a couple of weeks after that, and it was canceled, along with a slew of other races, as we know. 

Last year was my first as a Nuun Legacy ambassador! I’m thrilled to be back in 2021!  I have been using this as my primary electrolyte replacement for several years now. I really fell in love with the new Nuun Endurance last training season. It has more carbs than Nuun Sport, and it made a big difference with how I feel during long runs. And, in these pandemic times, I have enjoyed Nuun Immunity so much!

As the pandemic wreaked havoc with access to gyms and in person races, I took to my bike for cross training. In the early days of the outbreak, my bike provided a much welcomed respite from the 4 walls of my home. Although my bike is more of a cruiser than a road bike, I pushed it to its limits last year!

I also helped coach the Pink Nation, one of the Sports Backers Marathon Training Teams. And although the 2020 training season was weird, it was still meaningful, and Sports Backers ended up having a fantastic fall marathon event from Dorey Park along the Virginia Capital Trail. They truly made the most of a difficult situation. 

Running with the team helped me in my training to run the Marine Corps Marathon virtually. Although we picked a rather awful weekend weather wise, punctuated by remnants of Hurricane Delta, we were successful in completing our race. 

I ended the year with the Runner’s World Run Streak, running at least one mile every day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. 37 straight days of running. I’ve never done that before!

What has this year taught me? 

• I can do really long runs on my own. My longest solo run now has been 14 miles.
• Running solo is meditation time. 
• Virtual races, although not as exciting, can be meaningful. 
• The Richmond running community is absolutely amazing, and without them, I would not have been able to run my marathon nearly as easily. 
• Running has been slow since I got sick in August, but I’m finally starting to build up my endurance again through consistent training.
• Doing a run streak will not kill me, and might even make me stronger mentally and physically.

Thanks for reading about my year! I sincerely hope that 2021 brings better adventures.

My next events: 

• Desert Storm 218 miler (now through 2/28) (team event with two of my sole sisters!)
• Sports Backers Half Marathon March 14th
• Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Half Marathon April 17th (interested in running one of these races? Use code ANNE20 for 20% off registration!)

Happy running, everyone!

How did your year in running go? Did you do more than you realized? What do you hope to run in 2021? I’d love to hear about it! As always, I hope you all are safe and healthy.