2012 In Review

Well, it's been some year. A year of firsts, a year dealing with a nagging injury, and a year filled with life changes, both good and bad. I guess all of this can be filed under keeping life "interesting". 

The year in running started off with my first race, the LA 13.1 Half Marathon in January. This was more or less a casual effort to get things rolling again in preparation for my next big race which would be the LA Marathon in March. 

But before that, I ran another half marathon at Surf City. This was more of an honest effort and despite minimal road race training, I was able to come close to a PR. Also in the month of February, I threw all conventional wisdom out the door of training for a road marathon by running the Bandit 50K on a whim and somehow, managed a PR at the distance. This was a tough but fun race and one I'll probably look at doing again in 2013.

Near PR at Surf City Half

Then in March about a week before the big marathon, I participated in a cool night race called the Malibu Moonlight Madness Half Marathon thrown by Desert Dash on the trails of Point Magu in Malibu. Got wind of it through some Twitter buddies and I'm glad I participated. Even though late in the race I ate shit and got scraped up pretty good, I had a blast charging through the darkness and even scored a top 10 finish. About a week later came the one road marathon I run each year, the LA Marathon. What's usually a joyous celebratory run through the city I grew up in and love, turned into a less than stellar run along with an injury that sidelined me for some time. 

Initially feared as a stress fracture in the same spot of my left foot (had very similar symptoms to the one couple of years prior) much later turned out to be not as serious. I was able to resume running again in May but most summer races had to be scrapped which was a bummer. I was able to use a bit of that time creatively however including shooting a video of my friend Chris Price in July which was fun, frustrating and fulfilling all at once. 

I didn't race again until September when I ran the Dove Canyon Trail Marathon and Noble Canyon 50K. While the former was really more of a training run and the latter a more focused effort, I came away from both a little disappointed by how far my true endurance was from the goal at hand. 

Disappointment at Noble Canyon 50K

Redemption came in the form of the inaugural Cuyamaca 100K (my longest distance ever). Initially selected as a potential Western States qualifier (later found out it wouldn't count) I gave my all out there and came away very pleased with my effort and time. This day was truly what the ultra running community is all about from the camaraderie, camping out at the start and just the overall good vibes of that weekend. Stellar race put on by the two Scotts. 

My last race of 2012 turned out to be the Catalina Eco-Marathon, a race I had long sought out to get revenge on when it chewed me up and spat me out 2 years ago. Other than Cuyamaca the month prior, this was probably the most satisfying race experience I've had from start to finish during 2012 and probably ever. Scored a top 20 finish and felt strong all the way despite some "fueling" issues. 

Pure joy finishing the Catalina Eco-Marathon

After November I wanted to squeeze in one last 50K in December to keep the momentum going but alas, in that same month I went through a tough breakup and most of my motivation for running was minimal or non-existant. I did get in a couple of fun mountain runs however and hope that desire will always be there. 

Solo effort to Baldy Summit via Bear Canyon

Fun in the San Gabriel Mountains w/ friends

Winter running in Big Bear, CA

While I'm still trying to untangle myself from that situation, I'm hoping to spin it in a positive direction and use it as a catalyst to have an adventure and race filled 2013. Wishing all my friends and readers the same in the new year. Much positive vibes to you all.