Winter Wonderland or Out with the Old, In with the New

The close of an old year and the beginning of a new one provides such fertile ground...where to start.
Let's start with the end. 2010 is over and done. Thank God!! That year started out pretty damn crappy -- not running, depressed, dual pelvic stress fractures. But it ended on a high note -- return to running, venturing into triathlon territory, kick ass Army 10 miler, easy 3:12 at Rehoboth. So I guess all's well that ends well, or at least all's well that ends.

The last week of 2010 was perfect. The family headed down south to Virginia Beach for the New Years. Of course, they got a foot of snow while Potomac, MD got zilch. So, Jordana and I packed up our cross-country skis and off we went. Wednesday Dec 29 we went to Seashore State Park (excuse me, First Landing State Park). Spent about an hour and half skiing along the Cape Henry Trail and the Bald Cypress Trail. Beautiful. The cypress swamps with the spanish moss hanging, snow covered, was truly a sight to see. Thursday, Dec 30, we went to Bayville Farms Park and went skiing on the frisbee golf course -- still snow covered. Had to duck the occasional frisbee -- yep, a hardy band of three college kids were playing with bright orange and yellow frisbees. Jordana and I spent about an hour there, then drove back to my folks, changed from ski boots to running shoes, and did a very slippery 5.3 miles to Witchduck Point and back. The weather was getting warmer with each passing hour and by Friday Dec 31, the sidewalks along Great Neck Road (where my sister lives) were pretty much clear. So what better way to end the year (before the partying, I mean) than a nice 10 miler with Jordana? Certainly allows one to over-indulge in the sangria later that night?

And, of course, what better way to begin the new year than an easy 5 miler with Jordana on New Year's Day? Now, before you think we're crazy to be running 5 miles on New Years Day morning, let me tell you that we saw at least a dozen or so other crazyy folks out there running too.

So how did 2010 measure up, running-wise? Total miles: 1041.72 -- third lowest in the 8 years I've been keeping my running log (missed 4th by 0.7 miles). Ran 153 days or 42% of the year (the lowest percentage so far). Also one of my lowest racing years -- only 4 races (two tri's, Army 10 miler, and Rehoboth marathon). But I did pass the 10,000 mile mark in total running miles since 2003 when I started the log (although I guesstimate that my total lifetime miles is closer to 30,000 miles. But who's counting).
Moving to 2011. What's in store for me this year? Well, for starters, smarter training. I never want to repeat the end of 2009/beginning of 2010 again. Never.

So far I have two races definitely on the calendar: Charlottesville Marathon on April 9 and the Eagleman 70.3 (half-ironman) triathlon on June 12. I'm planning on Marine Corps Marathon in October (trying to finally join the 5 timers club) but registration is several weeks away.

And taking a page from the what's old is now new book, I signed up for a spring marathon training program. Normally, Jordana would be doing the Boston Bound spring marathon training program, but she's now on the A-list in the running club, having been asked to be a pace coach in the spring half marathon training program. Since they do long runs on Sunday and track Wednesday nights and Boston Bound does their long runs on Saturday and track Tuesday nights, we can both train. I'm actually very excited about doing Boston Bound. I'm hoping a professional training program will be what it takes for me to finally shave off those remaining 90 seconds and run that elusive sub-3 hour marathon at Charlottesville.

So what are my running/training/racing resolutions for 2011?
(1) train smarter -- more miles, but at slower pace
(2) try not to run alone so much
(3) hydrate better during races -- slow down if need be, but drink two cups per water station
(4) work on lowering my T1 and T2 times -- I'm sure I can put on bike/running shoes faster
(5) cycle faster by cycling smarter -- never going to get an age group award in a tri if I don't improve the middle segment
(6) and finally, run with Jordana any chance I can get. Not to get all mushy on you, but one of the benefits of my getting injured was being forced to run at a slower pace (for me at least) which meant running with my wife. For any of you that remember my earliest notes, Jordana and I used to run together before we were married and right after when we lived in Van Ness. I think we fell in love with each other way back when, partly on those runs. I wrote back in March 2009 about that time: "Those were great days. Jordana and I ran a lot together when we were in DC. I miss that now, but with each of us training for marathons and with three small kids requiring one of us to remain at home while the other runs, we rarely run together anymore." Now, I get to run with her again, not every time, but enough. It's like falling in love with her all over again. And I love it.

Life is good, friends.