Anamagi!

One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year is the North Face Anamagi Jacket that I got from my parents. One was available in the color and size I wanted at the outlet in Pleasant Prairie. This is a lightweight but very warm jacket, perfect for running in cold weather.

With the deep freeze that occurred, I wasn't able to take it out for a test run until two days ago (Friday). I ran about five miles with some work buddies at lunch time. Temps were in the high 20s. A cold wind was blowing off the lake, and I could feel a chill in my extremities, but everything covered by the jacket was toasty warm.

I got out today as well. Temps were in the high 30s. I threw on my running clothes, including the jacket, as soon as I got both kids down for a nap. Jenelle said I looked as happy as a kid on Christmas morning as I bolted out the door. I ran mostly south to a friend's house. There was a headwind, and there were several spots on the sidewalk with puddles and/or ice, but I managed okay. I enjoyed the return trip with the tailwind -- in fact, I had to unzip the jacket a little bit because I was getting so warm! I logged 7.65 miles in 65 minutes.

2014 is off to a great start. I've already signed up for the Wisconsin Half Marathon on May 3, and I'm considering a marathon between now and then. Let's fly!

2013 - Year in Review

In 2013, I ran a total of 1,655 miles. This is second highest. Only 2007 had more -- 1,740. You might wonder why 2010 did not have more miles, as I trained for an ran a 50-miler in the fall. There was a 16-week period where I logged, on average, more than 50 miles a week, but I did not run much at all in January, February, March, November, or December.

Here's a full list of years and miles run:
Year - Miles
2004 - 120
2005 - 1417
2006 - 1618
2007 - 1740
2008 - 1289
2009 - 959
2010 - 1457
2011 - 1391
2012 - 1550
2013 - 1655

In 2013, I ran six races:

• Two 5Ks: Cree Cruise (21:14), Stuff the Sleigh (20:30 -- new PR)
• Two marathons: Kenosha (3:33:39 -- new PR), Middleton (3:36:49)
• One 10-miler: Lighthouse Run (1:11:57 -- new PR)
• One 10K: Firecracker Run (43:46 -- new PR)

Four PRs in six races. I'm thrilled with that. It's exciting that I can still set personal records at the age of 35. I hope to continue the trend in 2014.

My lifetime odometer (as of December 31) was 13,196. I'm more than half way around the world, and I hope to complete the journey before the end of my days.