A Look Back at 2013

First ride of 2013

As 2013 draws to a close, it seems only right to take a look back at the highs and lows of the past year. This year has been a difficult one for our family. In March, we lost Courtney's dad and Anne's "Pop".  We all miss him terribly. Losing a parent is really hard. I lost my dad in 1998 and I miss him every day.

On the professional front, I will be moving to a new law firm after 25 years in Norfolk. The nice thing is that I will be in Suffolk and only five minutes from home. No more tunnels! Sometimes change is difficult, but I am excited about the move and practicing with a great group of folks here in Suffolk.

Cap2Cap Century Ride in Richmond

On the running front, 2013 has been a year of many PR's and firsts for me. At the beginning of the year, I set the goal of running 1500 miles by the end of the year. I met that goal at the end of October and just recently crossed the 1800 mile barrier. If I throw in my cycling miles, my total mileage for 2013 is over 4400 miles. Guess I will have to raise the bar to 2000 miles for 2014.

Cornerstone Striders at the Marine Corps Marathon

I had PR's in the half marathon in San Antonio in January (1:57:40), the 14K at Virginia Is For Lovers in February (1:12:15), the full marathon at Shamrock in March (4:20:18) and the 10K at Monument Avenue in March (53:01). I also ran in my first Marine Corps Marathon in October. On the other side of the equation, I had a very disappointing race at the Crawling Crab Half Marathon because of the warm day. I finished my first ultra marathon at the Seashore Nature Trail 50K last weekend, although my time was much slower than I had hoped. I also competed in my first century ride at the Cap2Cap in May, my second ride at the MS 150 and my first triathlon in August in Goochland. Our Cornerstone Century team also completed the Colonial 200-mile Relay in September.

On the whole, not a bad year. I have been blessed to have the support and love of my family and to surround myself with great runners and cyclists, who don't accept excuses and won't let you fail. Like they say, it's the company you keep!

Our Cornerstone Century team at the Colonial 200 Relay

My first tri at the Goochland Sprint Triathlon

So, what's in store for 2014? Well, I still have my eye on trimming my full marathon time down toward that 4 hour mark. Also, for the past two years, I have wanted to ride in the Tour de Cure Century ride, but have not been able to make it work. I hope that 2014 will see that happen. I also want to try a triathlon that includes an open water swim. I am planning to do the Smithfield Sprint in April, along with some tri rookies from Cornerstone and some from my old firm. 2014 is looking like a challenging year for me. But, then again, I like a good challenge. Happy New Year to you and yours!