2009 rambings

1/25 - Carlsbad HM - 1:29:48
3/15 - St. Patrick's day 8k - 31:55
4/6 - Cherry Blossom 10M - 66:43
4/20 - Boston Marathon - 3:19:01
5/16 - Atoms 5k - 20:23
6/13 - Lawyers Have Heart 10k - 43:36
7/18 - Twilighter 8k - 33:47
9/27 - Dash for Dad 10k - 42:13
10/18 - Home Run 10k - 41:47

Things started out great with a sub-1:30 HM in January, then a 31:55 8k, and finally a 66:43 10 miler in April. The wheels were starting to come off then and I had a somewhat disappointing 3:19 at Boston (note that the 10-miler was my goal race, so I wasn't that disappointed). I took a very luxurious recovery time after Boston and then set my sights on a sub-40 10k for the fall, which I thought was doable based on my 10-mile time.

I picked up an injury at the beginning of July that I never quite shook. I ran my scheduled mileage up until November when I finally cried uncle and tried to heal. (Note that the November bar would be about twice as big if this were time instead of miles because of XT.)

What would I do differently? Well, instead of resting a lot I think I'd substitute a lot of jogging after Boston in my recovery. When I encounter my injury in July, I should have just taken a solid week off and done a lot more foam rollering than I did. Mainly I should listen to my body better. I also have to say that I'd have run more "junk" miles. I just think I thrive on mileage. Part of that is just weight management. I was probably ~4 lbs heavier in the fall, but I think it's more than that. There's also the fact that I just like to run.

Yearly mileage totals and races since I started running for good on 2 Jan 2005. Months are in parentheses.

2005 - 1224
10M - 1:24:49 (4), 20M - 3:06:27 (9), M - 4:49:21 (10), 10k - 50:17 (11), 5M - 38:56 (11)
2006 - 2589
M - 4:17:03 (3), 10M - 1:19:25 (4), M - 4:00:03 (5), HM - 1:40:08 (10), M - 3:56:14 (10), M - 3:43:16 (11), 5k - 21:23 (12)
2007 - 2640
5M - 34:20 (1), 1:09:49 (4), M - 3:24:15 (5), 5k - 20:32 (5), HM - 1:33:29 (9), M - 3:27:34 (10), 5k - 20:35 (12)
2008 - 3180
8k - 32:45 (3), 10M - 1:08:49 (4), M - 3:21:50 (5), 5k - 19:49 (5), M - 3:15:22 (11), 5k - 20:15 (12)
2009 - 2303 + 41h59' XT * HM - 1:29:48 (1), 8k - 31:55 (3), 10M - 1:06:43 (4), M - 3:19:01 (4), 10k - 41:47 (10)

I've also added a chart for my weight above. I gained weight all year. Lost a good bit in November (aided by stress and lunch time workouts) and then gained a lot of it back in December (aided by holiday candy). I'm hoping that recent point (first since getting back form Christmas) is just an outlier.

Goals for 2010? Who knows. I want to run more because I like running so that means listening to my body and not getting injured. I hope to set more PRs. I crossed a lot off what I thought were reasonable lifetime goals (sub-20 5k, BQ, sub-1:30 HM), but I still want to break 40 by 40, so that gives me 18 months. I don't have any 10ks picked out though and it will probably stay that way. I think this could be the year an ultra. I also think I should be doubling more -- gets in the mileage and doesn't tear you up.

Here are some concrete goals: 2800 miles, 365 runs, run a new distance, and PR at a distance I've run before.