As I ran around the lake at our local park this afternoon, I reflected on 2020 and how different it has been. The one constant in this crazy year, has been my workouts, so I thought I would cover my 2020 training year, in the next blog or two. Today, I am going to cover running.
First some statistics (numbers in parentheses are the equivalent 2019 numbers):
- Total Number of Runs = 187 (209)
- Total Distance = 1,042 miles (1,128 miles)
- Total Elevation Gain = 56,522 feet (45,058 feet)
My total number of runs and total distance are slightly down this year, but that is not at all surprising. At the beginning of the year, I had a stress fracture in my foot, so I didn’t run at all in January and February. My first run of the year was a 2 mile treadmill run that I did on March 1st. My elevation gain however, was significantly higher this year compared to last year. This is due to all the preparation I did, for the Rachel Carson Trail run, discussed below.
What really pleased me this year, is that I have also continued to get faster. Without the challenge of races, I used a couple of individual time trials, to test my speed. I ended up with significantly improved times at both the 5K and 10K distances. I improved my 5K time by 58 seconds, and my 10K time by over two minutes.
By far the highlight of my running year, was the ultra-distance trail run that I did along the entire length of the Rachel Carson Trail, here in Pittsburgh. You can read the full details of this 46 mile run in the race report that I wrote about it. It was my first ever ultra-distance run, and it was so rewarding that I know it won’t be my last. My run also ended up being the fastest known time, for a male athlete on this trail (my time should end up getting easily beaten, but I’ll take an FKT at age 57!!).
I came to the sport of triathlon from a running background, so I have always felt that it is the strongest of the three sports for me. I still believe that is the case and cannot wait to put my gains to the test in 2021.
