Year in Review

Time: 255:15:13 (h:m:s)
Distance: 3,374 km

Another year has come to a close and while this was lackluster in terms of training and racing, it was a big one in terms of my career. The totals above are close to being 100% accurate, but there were certainly runs that I didn't wear Mr. Garmin and runs on the track when I turned off the GPS feature. I shouldn't compare the totals to last year as 2011 was filled with injury and 2010 was nearly perfect. In looking at the positives, I have been able to run healthy the last few months of the year and focus on Meagan's training leading up to the Trials.

I want 2012 to see some personal best times on the road from 10k to the marathon. Since there are many competitive road races in New England, I'll have plenty of times to toe the line and run fast times. I want the training to put me back in a place where given a few weeks, I should be able to specify the training to jump in any race distance that I hear is going to be competitive.

Here's to a year of fast racing...

Year in Review

Time: 31,546:52 mins.
Distance: 4,496.27 miles
Average: 84.18 miles per week

Damn, I just set the mileage bar for 2011 pretty high.

I can without a doubt say that 2010 was a banner year for consistency in racing and training. I never pushed the threshold too much which is how I was able to stay relatively healthy during the year. I only had three weeks that I would consider truly poor. Back in late February and early March my achilles gave me some troubles as I trained for a spring marathon. It's funny as I type this now my achilles is again giving me some troubles, but that's life when you're a runner.

In terms of racing, I ran two marathons that were both personal bests. I PR'd at the Tobacco Road Marathon by 2 seconds in finishing with a 2:27:17 and most recently I lowered that best to 2:24:46 at the Thunder Road Marathon. I ran the Racefest Half Marathon in 71:52 finishing second to Ryan Bender. The half distance is one that I'm not a fan because it's like a 10k but over twice as far. My first half marathon was painful and this wasn't much better. I think I'd rather run a marathon instead.

I also ran two 10 milers. The first took place a day after my half marathon at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler which I finished in 53:36. It wasn't my best showing at the fatigue from the half and drive to DC left me with little for the race. The other was the Folly Beach 10 Miler which I completed in 51:35. The course may have been a little short, but I was pleased with the effort nonetheless.

I ran a couple 10k races that weren't anything to write home about and a bunch of 5ks. I would bore myself and definitely the readers if I were to find notes on all of those. I'm also too lazy to go back and look for all of the RFYL GPx races. I'm bummed that the only time I went under 15:00 for 5k was on the track at one of the all comers meets. I really wanted to crack that barrier at some point. My best opportunity came in Providence, RI at the CVS Downtown 5k where I finished in 15:01.

The running highlight of the year other than my two marathons would definitely be the Izumo Ekiden in Japan. I had the pleasure of visiting the country for the third time this year and competing again. I somewhat redeemed myself this year from last year's embarrassment of a stage leg. The team had a blast and related nicely to one another. We also got to go on a run with Brett Larner of Japan Running News.

I can't finish without mentioning the great group of runners here in Charlotte. I made many great connections throughout the city all year long. It's been exciting watching the Charlotte Running Club grow and seeing attendance at weekend runs increase. It's been great working with the local stores like Charlotte Running Co., RFYL, TrySports, Inside-Out Sports, Omega Sports and Fleet Feet Huntersville this year. Twenty-ten was sweet, but here's to next year...

Year in Review

Total Miles: ~3,325
Total Time: a lot of minutes and hours
One serious injury in February
Two marathons
One trip to Japan

There's a lot to reflect on for 2009. I ran my first marathon, raced in the Izumo Ekiden for the second time, moved to Charlotte and got a new job.

The year started with me training for the Austin Marathon in February. In the build up I got injured with my only severe setback of the year. My achilles hindered my training and I missed the race, but was still able to watch Owen run his first 'thon. I would have to wait another couple of months to debut at the marathon distance.

Through March and April I was back to training for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. My ambitious goal of debuting sub-2:25 was out the window, but I still wanted to run a competitive race. In what were mediocre at best conditions I ran 2:27:19 to win the 9th Annual OKC Marathon. It felt good to finally run a marathon and not suffer the late race debacles. The distance takes a lot of patience in both the training and the race itself.

The marathon was my first race that was longer than 10k. Most people usually run a half or 15k prior to stepping up to the legendary distance. Not me. I decided that for my next race I wanted to run a half-marathon in Joplin, Missouri. The Boomtown Days Half-Marathon was offering some prize money and I wanted to go cherry-pick the winnings. Well, a few Kenyans caught wind of the race and came down from Columbia, MO. I failed to run aggressively and missed out on the cash. I also discovered that the half-marathon is an awful distance. Maybe it was just the hot weather and hilly course, but I was in rough shape afterward. There is no time to relax in the half-marathon, it's like 10k effort, but for twice as far. In the marathon I warmed up the first 10, in the half you're racing hard from the gun. Not fun. I need to run another one at some point, but this race put a bad taste in my mouth.

I spent the rest of the summer training for the 5k. I planned to move to Charlotte at the end of the season and since I didn't have a job lined up, I thought I might as well race the CVS Downtown 5k. The race serves as the qualifier for the Ivy League Ekiden team that is sent to Izumo, Japan each year. I didn't run nearly as fast as I hoped, but I still qualified to race in Japan. My training continued to focus on the 5k distance up until leaving for Japan. Since I was living in Charlotte, I took advantage of being around the Queens University team. Meagan was injured at this point of the season, but I managed to workout with the Queens men a few times.

My trip to Japan was great fun but the race was a disappointment. We had a great squad of guys including a handful of sub-14 minute 5k guys. Ben True, Dave Nightingale, Lucas Meyer and Zac Hine were all on the trip to Izumo. It was fun meeting and running with those guys for the week. Looking back now, I was pretty rundown and over-trained by October. I ran a terrible split and the team finished outside of the top 10 which is the yearly goal.

Upon returning to the states I was able to attend a former teammate's wedding and catch up with some great friends in DC. When I got back to Charlotte I started an internship and learned "real world" big kid stuff. The internship didn't last long because I was offered a job in Austin, TX. I accepted and started working with some great brands immediately.

I didn't really have anything to train for during the rest of the year. I was healthy and motivated to run, but had no grand plans for a big race. I wasn't sure what the spring was going to bring me and I decided, along with my coach, to build a base. A couple illnesses derailed my true base efforts and I found myself limping into December with fewer miles than I had planned. The Thunder Road Marathon was coming up and a few days prior I had the thought of running. I managed to run better than expected. That race served as a jump-start to my training for 2010. The potential to run fast for 26.2 miles is a definite possibility. I look forward to training smart and racing hard in the New Year.

Year in Review

Total Miles: 2,501
Total Time: You figure it out.
32 weeks of running?

I actually ran a little bit farther than the 2,500 miles I have logged on this blog, but a few of those weeks were a little depressing when I was struggling with injuries in the spring and didn't feel the need to record anything. This was a good year of running, but I didn't have any breakthrough performances. Last year I was lucky enough to race in Japan and run some big 5ks around the country. This year I was trying to do some new things on and off the track and just didn't put it together. I had wanted to run the Marine Corps Marathon with Team OJ/Team MJ, but in the process I over trained. Live and learn.

I hope there will be some new running experiences in some great places this new year. I'll be running my first marathon in Austin in the middle of February and potentially will race the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon for OK Runner too. After that I don't know what my running plans will be. I want to take another crack at running a fast mile or even stepping on the track to run a quality 5k/10k, but I'm not sure if any of that will come to fruition.

As I write from Jilane's house in Brea, CA the body is feeling good and the spirits are high. I think I can sub 2:25 in my debut at the 'thon and know I can run some quality races in the spring/summer. Norman is getting a stronger running community together and I want it to continue to grow. Scotty D had been a great training partner and hopefully his foot stops being a bastard so that he can join me out on the 'crete a bit more. Jerry Faulkner had a breakthrough performance at the Tulsa Marathon and he should be able to run a fast 10k somewhere. Even though we lost Holly to 'zona, there will be many good runs to come in '09.

One Year Anniversary

Time: ~35 mins (untimed)
Distance: 4-5 miles

Today marks the one year anniversary of my blog. Yay! I celebrated by actually running. I ran from my apartment to Campus Corner to check and see if Buchanan's Bikes or Take Five were open. Neither were so I ran to the track and did some drills before heading home. The hip didn't feel too bad. Actually it felt pretty good. I think I have some new insight on it though. It might be a result of weak abs or a strained lower abdomen. I really don't know what I'm talking about but when I go and see the PT on Weds. I will ask him about it. I also found this article that popped up in my RSS feed suggesting it has relevant material to my interests.

A year ago today I started with a post about the Brookhaven Run. I wish I could say that I was as fit if not fitter than I was then, but unfortunately I cannot. I am still hurt with a nagging hip injury that I can't shake. My immediate goal is to get healthy and then work back into steady, respectable mileage.

Some things about blogging about running:

1. nobody reads it unless it's your mom behind the screen
2. it's easier to blog when you are healthy and actually running
3. it probably won't get you a job
4. pictures help
5. nobody reads it

The blog has been fun and a relatively good use of my time. I have had the opportunity to run in some pretty sweet locations including Tokyo, Izumo, Mexico (kinda), Palm Springs, Providence, Atlanta, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Rosa and Cincinnati.