Tommy 5k: Shara Here

Hi Everyone,

This is Shara. I am no writer, but am definitely a blogger wannabe. I am pretty sure I have a blog somewhere on the internet, but it only has 1 post. So, when Tommy suggested I write a "guest" post on his I wasn't sure if I would accept, but here I am writing about my 2020 year in review.

I wouldn't say I have ever gone into a new year with any athletic goals. Before Tommy and I had kids I knew I wanted to run a marathon, do a half ironman, and travel back to South Africa. I didn't have a specific year when these "goals" had to be accomplished by, however these 3 goals were accomplished before we welcomed Haley into the world in 2017. I ran my first marathon, Hartford Marathon, in 2014, I completed my first ironman in 2015, and I unexpectedly traveled back to South Africa in 2016 to celebrate my Granny's 90th birthday (I was pregnant at the time so I just snuck that in). It was special being able to share the news with her in person. I also managed to complete my second marathon, Boston Marathon, in 2016. That being said, I would say the only year I went into having a goal would be 2016. I knew I would be running the Boston Marathon that April and began my training on January 1, 2016 with a half marathon training run with Tommy. So, I don't have any goals to reflect back on, but I can reflect on 2020 through statistics Strava provides.

As for everyone, 2020 brought a lot of hardship and trying times. Despite all the heartache and loss that the whole world felt during 2020 I cannot be more grateful for the gift of time. Time to slow down, time to spend with my special family, time to breathe and think about what is really important in my life, time to run and be active more, and most importantly, time to watch my 2 girls grow and flourish during the 6 months we were home with them. I will never get that time with them again. Yes, did I lose my patience more than I wanted, but I am forever grateful for the memories we were able to make together.

I am no techy and don't study Strava very much, but I will try my best to provide some fun statistics from my year. January to March didn't involve too much exercise due to my family commitments and work schedule. However, I was able to sneak out on Thursdays and Fridays to run a quick 5k before picking the girls up from Mary's. I loved these 2 days of "me" time. I then would run my usual 5 miles on Saturday and Sunday. However, when schools shut down mid march, my running and working out opportunity increased. I can not 100% say for sure that I worked out everyday since we shut down mid march, but I am pretty confident I did some form of exercise each day since then.

Running:

Total miles run: 1200.2 miles

My best 5k effort: 19:00 (Jeff Vuono's "Run away from 2020")

My best mile time: 5:41 (8/1 at Ninigret with Tommy)

Total time spent running: 146h 14m

Total number of runs: 333

Swimming: Tommy and I had a good thing going with our weekly swim dates.

Total yards swum: 10,849 yards

Total time spent swimming: 2h 35m

Total number of swims: 7

Some athletic highlights from the year: (in no particular order)

Haley's weekly fun runs in the summer
Double stroller family runs. From April till September/October we went on 1 family stroller run a week
Sneaking out for some runs with Tommy, including dragging him out on 12/30 to run 2 miles with me so I could get 1200 miles for the year
Running a few miles "hard" - either after Haley's fun run on Wednesdays in the summer or at Ninigret with Tommy after a family stroller run
Doing some "bush" running with Tommy to prepare me for L'il Rhody
Running the small L'il Rhody Race - my one and only race for 2020. And I must take a moment to compliment the team that put the race on. I can only imagine the hardships they all went through to put on such a successful race. It was most enjoyable to participate in it. Congrats to Jeff and the rest of the team/volunteers. And thank you for allowing me to run a race in 2020.
Paddle boarding with Tommy
Our weekly swim dates to the Y before the shut down mid march. These started around November of 2019
The 2 fun "races" organized by Jeff Vuono and the RWYC group. The first one on Thanksgiving - pouring with rain, but a ton of fun. And thanks to Kevin for the local honey. We are thoroughly enjoying it. And the second one, "Run away from 2020" on 12/27. This was a cold one, but also a lot of fun. For both of these races, my body definitely wasn't used to running hard.
Running 2kms around our yard in support of my friends and family in South Africa who were not allowed to leave their properties for 3 weeks. It was fun seeing some of their runs being done up and down their driveways - huge kudos to them. My one friends, Jade, even trained for a virtual Comrades Marathon in her driveway. In her words, "Thank goodness I have a long driveway."
Going to a few RWYC runs on Sundays. I hope to go to more in 2021.
Being reunited with running with Riley and Lulu
Running on the beach from Weekapaug to Watch Hill and back with Tommy

2021? I am not sure what is in store for me this year. I do know I am looking forward to continuing to enjoy my running - solo, with the dogs, with Tommy, with the whole family, and some group runs. I am really starting to enjoy my running and feeling more like myself again after starting our family. I hope there are some race opportunities in 2021, including some longer events. A marathon? I am not sure if that is in line for me this year, but hopefully a half. One of my long term goals is to get to Boston one year with Tommy - hopefully this will happen for us sometime in the near future. My biggest goal for 2021 is to try and be active everyday, whether it is running, core/stretching (I don't track this on Strava, I think I should start), swimming, biking. Most importantly, I hope to continue to enjoy my health and ability to exercise. I don't want to take my health and ability for granted, but rather to find joy in it on a daily basis.

I hope you have enjoyed journeying with my through my 2020 year. Maybe there will be more "guest" appearances this year. Who knows? Stay healthy, safe, and keep up the good work!

Some highlights in picture form