2016: Year of the Half Marathon

After gutting out my first 50-miler last year and paying for it until the snow flew in winter, I felt I needed to switch things up, so I declared 2016 my "year of the half marathon." I signed up for 5 that would work with my schedule, and started training from January onwards. It really is the half year of the half marathon, now that we're in July and they're all done, but it's catchy either way. I'm in triathlon training now and then marathon training for Corning Wineglass, but here's a fun recap of what made these races, and by extension the first half of the year, fun! I never came close to my half marathon PR (maybe in the future, but I think that's optimistic), but adjusting for weather and elevation, I had pretty consistent results that I was happy with.

• Syracuse Half Marathon After a harrowing drive up Route 81, an even more harrowing race (well, "SyraCRAZY"), with freezing temperatures, lake-effect snow and a writeup in Runner's World. I made it into a video that got over a half million hits. Ah, fame.
• Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon A family race, with the kids running the 10K and Amy and I did the half marathon. Xander ran his first solo 10K, with nobody to pace him. The thing I love about racing as a family is the stories we all have to tell!
• Flower City Half Marathon My third half marathon in 21 days. Amy came to run with me at the last minute, so it was a bit like a date! The 1:30 pacer provided good inspiration to keep digging deep, and I managed my best time of the year.
• Boston's Run to Remember Half Marathon Xander's first half marathon while Amy paced him, and Elizabeth and I raced. Wonderful support from the Boston community, and super-high energy! Really fun destination race for the family.
• Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon Back on home turf for the second running of this great race. Xander's second half marathon (he liked the first one, must be!) and Elizabeth paced him. Started and finished at the Ithaca Commons, and unmatched post-race food and Ithaca Beer. Very Ithaca, and very fun!

What's next? Well, next year I may have another go at the Cayuga Trails 50. I know I can do better than I did with smarter training and nutrition. We'll see ...