Posts Tagged ‘reflection’

I’m not happy with January for a variety of reasons, but how can I complain about it? I spent half of it not feeling well, but I still managed to accomplish more this month than any other January. Here are the highlights:

• My first-ever January race. A trail race is more of an experience than an actual race, but the bloodshed led to some good lessons learned.
• Most miles ever in January. I’m disappointed with 81.5 miles, but in comparing what I did two years ago when I was on my way to a PR in the Shamrock Half, I have more mileage — both in quantity and quality.
• My long run is back to double digits already with a 10-miler this past weekend.
• 478 push-ups.

All in all, I am in a good place heading in February. Next month is sure to be full of more miles and additional speed work as I narrow down a goal for Shamrock. I’m also eager to start my core streak.

It’s all about focusing …

These past couple of weeks have been fun reflecting on what happened in 2011. Today I bring you the last of my lists with my top running moments of the year.

Narrowing down the top 5 running moments of the year is hard, but honestly anything longer than that is boring and diluted. Anything beyond 5 is like having honorable mentions, which I will not do. This list is completely different from my top 5 racing moments of 2011 – this list is more broad and not necessarily as focused on one specific moment.

5. Monument Avenue 10k
While this was my No. 1 racing moment this year, it’s definitely not the top running moment. It was huge though, but from an overall perspective it wasn’t as important to me as other things on this list. Gradually building my mileage in the first quarter of the year, getting back to the start line and then setting a PR, though, still make this a great moment.

4. The Holiday Run Streak
In a few months, perhaps this will be higher on the list; it’s actually tough for me to include this here as it’s happening now with another day to go. That said, my running streak through Jan. 1 is teaching me a lot about running for the sake of running. It’s fun to just go out and run with training pretty far from my mind. I’ve run in the rain, in the wind, in awkwardly warm December weather, through neighborhoods brightly lit by Christmas lights; and included a few races to close out the year.

3. “Most ever” moments
It’s important to me to not confuse “most ever” with “best ever.” When it comes to this year, I won’t touch the “best ever” phrase. I’ll just use “best so far.” And with that nod comes many “most ever” moments this year — most weekly mileage (41.5 from Sept. 5-11); most ever miles in a month (135 in August and September); most ever mileage in a year (1,040.4); most ever races (13); and most ever consecutive races (4 in 4 weeks) are the highlights.

2. Watching my son race
I’ve learned a lot this year about running by watching my son. He has fun; he notices things like barns off in the distance in a race; and he runs just to run. If you don’t have kids, I highly suggest that you watch a kids race. Not the one with 10 or 11 year olds – the real kids race where everyone is under 5 years old. You’ll learn a lot.

My friend Jeremy (Train to Tri) asked me in a comment recently what I felt like I did differently to stay injury free during Baltimore Marathon training. When I think about this year and what went well, I like to think that the combination of what I did differently worked. Here are 5 things – in no particular order – I did that I think have contributed to my well-being this year.

Epsom salt baths
I think I started doing a salt bath once I got to 16 miles for the long run. They’re so relaxing and always left me feeling refreshed. I would usually do one the night after a long run and then occasionally during the week. For those screaming at me to do ice baths, I tried it once and couldn’t bring myself to do another one. Maybe next year. Scream away.

Running faster
Getting quicker was not high on my priorities this year, but speed, as well as drastically improving my race times, was definitely a big factor in making this year a different year. And in this last month as I run in a non-training mind frame, I’m only getting faster without intentionally running faster.

Rotating shoes
I’ve been a big fan of rotating shoes since I started that in early 2010. This summer I added in another pair to the mix and now rotate two pairs of Brooks Ravenna and one pair of Brooks Ghost 3, which is nearing the end of its life. In addition to alternating shoes when running, I also alternate what I wear to work from a brown casual pair to a pair of New Balance to a couple of pairs of retired running shoes. I think all these combinations have kept my legs and joints from another repetition-type injury.

Walking at work
I don’t talk nearly enough about this, but the job I started in the spring has a great workout program. I generally add a couple of walking miles a day to the time on my feet Monday-Friday. That extra movement, especially on days that I feel sluggish or sore, has been key. That said, if I ever change jobs, I will insist that I be allowed walking time.

Better training log
While I was training for Baltimore, I utilized a Google Documents spreadsheet to closely monitor my weekly mileage, as well as my cumulative mileage and how it compared to what I did in 2010 when training for the Richmond Marathon. That led me to always know where I stood with my mileage at any given time. I’ll admit at times it make me obsess a bit more about things than I normally would have, but I intend on refining the process in 2012.

As I look ahead to 2012, I’m looking forward to trying even more new things and improving on what I’ve already done differently. Things such as cross training, which I did a lot of in 2011, need to take more priority, as do losing 10 pounds that I never seem to try hard enough to lose. For now, though, I’m looking forward to these last few days of the year.

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

After the euphoria of Christmas is over, Dec. 26 usually has this weird hungover feeling to it. The keyword is usually.

With my son now 3 and experiencing the joy of the season in so many ways, Christmas is once again more than a day. It’s a big event leading up to it — driving around looking at Christmas lights, numerous times seeing a Santa that knows his name, and decorating an Advent tree every night were just a few of the highlights this month.

And today, the day after, was a huge day for him to spend a gift card from his birthday to buy more train tracks — it’s like he had a creative explosion in the living room putting track together in so many ways.

The past few weeks of my normal everyday life reminds me so much of training for a race — there’s so much buildup for one event, but what happens after that event is just as important as everything else. I wish people’s Christmas spirit lasted longer and that everyone could be as happy and care-free as a 3-year-old, but I think what’s important is that I try to soak all this in and do what I can to keep those feelings going.

I know this may not make much sense, but the day after Christmas always puts a lot of things on my mind. I’ve never really used this blog as an outlet for that before, but these are things I think about while running, especially this year doing the Holiday Run Streak. Don’t worry, I have some more lists to share this week as I continue to reflect on 2011.

Last night I passed last year’s running miles and now stand at more than 1,012 for the year. In just a few days I’ll pass my consecutive running days streak — Saturday will be the record-setting day. It’s a fitting way to end the year full of personal records. Here’s a look:

• It started in April with a 3-second PR in the 10k at the Monument Avenue 10k in Richmond. You may recall this was my No. 1 racing moment of the year in my post the other day.
• In July I had one goal — a PR in the Stars and Stripes 5k in Howland, Ohio. Mission accomplished by 31 seconds.
• A few weeks later, I dug deep and found a PR in the Percival’s Island 5 Miler, the fourth time I’ve done that race. I knocked 12 seconds off my PR from 2007.
• It wasn’t a personal record in the distance, but I did set a course record by more than 4 minutes on the “new” course of the Lynchburg Half Marathon in August.
• A week after that I set a new bar in the 5k in the Fab 5k, knocking off another 18 seconds off my PR.
• Perhaps the biggest PR came in the Baltimore Marathon. I never really talked about how much improvement I made in that distance, but my 3:56:17 finish was more than 16 minutes better than my first attempt at that distance in 2007.
• The final record of the year came with a course record a few weeks ago in the Peaks of Otter Christmas Classic in which I knocked off more than a minute and a half of my time from 2009.

This may sound confusing, but to me it makes sense — some of my top racing moments of 2011 may not show up in a later post with top running moments of the year, or some of these moments may rank differently. The Baltimore Marathon, for example, was definitely one of the biggest highlights for me — ever — but from a racing perspective, it’s not my No. 1 moment of the year. Read on  …

5. Trail race + age group award + running with my son
In May I was very humbled by running the Mountain Junkies Trail Nut 10k trail race in Bedford. That experience was one that reminded me how challenging running on multiple surfaces really is.

This race was made special in that I was 2nd in my age group and my son wanted to run with me after – a perfect way to cool down. Winning a free pair of Injinji socks added to that great day.

4. Sub 7-minute final mile, Percival’s Island 5-Miler
The fact that I set a PR in this race is not the reason this is here – the final mile of that race is. As I think back to that day, I’m still not sure why I couldn’t pick up the pace in the first four miles, nor do I know where I found the motivation to have one of the best miles ever in a race. I do know, though, that it’s worth this list.

3. PR in the Baltimore Marathon
Here’s where this list gets tricky. Coming back this year after an injury and running in the marathon may very well be my best running highlight this year (that’s for another list before the end of the year), but when it comes to racing, it’s not what stands out as the best moment.

Here’s why: as I near the finish of 8 years of running, I have to think about where I started and where I am now. When it comes to racing, the marathon is not where my roots stand. Yes, it is very important to me that I ran 26.2 miles and was not injured afterward, but as I allow hindsight to tell the story, the Baltimore Marathon was not the best racing highlight of my year. Considering that I ran 13 races this year (also a PR), No. 3 isn’t so bad.

2. Destroying my 5k PR
In July I set out for a PR in the 5k at a race in Ohio. It was the first time in a while that I’ve approached a 5k with a “PR or go home” mentality. While I did set a PR that day, the next month I once again set my PR in a 5k (the Fab 5k, another Mountain Junkies race) with a time of 21:52. I have shaved 49 second off my 5k PR this year — more than 16 seconds per mile.

1. Getting back to the start line
Nearly 5 months after being injured after the Richmond Marathon, I went back to the River City for my first race of the year – the Monument Avenue 10k. Not only was getting to the start line a huge deal, I also managed to get a PR by 3 seconds with a well-executed negative split. There’s no doubt in my mind that day was my greatest race moment this year.

Running 1,000 miles this year was never on my radar, especially after running less than 50 miles in January and even less in February.

Today, as I neared a quarter mile to go to 1,000, I was forced to stop …

I’ve run across these tracks probably a dozen times this year and not once did I encounter a train. It struck me as being pretty funny that I had to wait a couple of minutes to run a little farther before hitting 2.2 miles into my run, marking my 1,000th mile. And, that too, was kind of funny as I hit the mark in front of the church I went to much of my life (Main Street United Methodist Church in Bedford).

My running log from today - miles, shoes and total 2011 miles.

Unlike last year, I hit this mark today healthy and more confident than ever about what’s ahead. In the final couple of weeks of 2011, I’ll do some reflecting on what’s happened in these 1,000+ miles — this has been a special year in so many ways and I’m looking forward to taking some time and reading posts I haven’t visited in a while.

While I reflect, though, I’ll keep running. It’s day 24 of the Runner’s World Holiday Run Streak — I have quite a bit more running to do and some early 2012 goals to start getting serious about.

In these last two weeks I’ll continue to hit milestones I’ve never seen with the most miles ever in a year and my most consecutive running days.

Until then, I’m going to celebrate a bit tonight.

For the final 11 things post of the year, I thought I’d take a look back at each of the previous 11 things posts and pick my favorite item from each. I think it’s a good way to close out these posts because a 12th 11 things post of new items wouldn’t fit that whole “11″ them from 2011.

1. January, 11 things you may not know about me: My grandma used to live on a farm and some guy used to keep cows there. My sister and I got to name two of them once. Pete and Itchy. Why Itchy? Because he was scratching himself.

2. February, 11 places I’ve been: Hershey, Pennsylvania. My wife and I made a stop on our honeymoon in 2004 in Hershey and we’ve been back twice for Dave Matthews Band concerts. (For the record, I’ve spent the night in several places for DMB concerts in addition to what’s already been mentioned: Cherry Hill, N.J., for a concert in Philadelphia; Roanoke, Va.; Blacksburg, Va.; Virginia Beach; and Greensboro, N.C.) Anyway, Hershey is a must-see sometime in your life if you like chocolate.

3. March, 11 random thoughts: If you work for me and I give you a deadline, don’t miss the deadline.

4. April, 11 things my grandpa taught me: The most important lesson my grandfather taught me — how to be happy. In all of his pictures throughout his life, he always had a genuine smile on his face. Life is a lot easier when you can put a smile on.

5. May, 11 songs on shuffle: Black Rock, O.A.R.

6. June, 11 things, Birthday edition: Camping gear. I haven’t been in the woods in a long time and sometime in the next year I’d like to take my son camping. New sleeping bags would be nice.

7. July, 11 things, Anniversary edition: We wanted to have a fairly non-traditional song for our first dance. We chose Elton John’s “Your Song.”

8. August, 11 things I’ve learned from my son: Ice cream is better when you make a mess.

9. September, 11 things, long run edition: I saw a deer poop for the first time ever. (It was still dark then. And she had the audacity to do this in front of her two kids, me and Duke.)

10. October, 11 things, Baltimore Marathon edition: I listened to this song a lot on my long runs in the last month or so. To hear it when the sun is coming up often gave me a sense of peace and helped me find strength when I needed it most.

11. November, 11 random thoughts: I haven’t had a Magic Hat in a while. Somebody go buy me a winter variety pack please.

A year ago yesterday it all unraveled — I knew I was injured and I knew I probably shouldn’t be running. My second marathon, though, was something I felt like I had to do.

A year ago this past weekend was my second Richmond Marathon.

I think it’s taken me a year to figure out why. This gets into those weird conversations about the overused “everything happens for a reason” things, but despite a very solid 2010 with running, I know that I lost focus. My runs meant nothing — they just become training runs for the sake of training runs.

This past weekend, as I had a solid run on Saturday, I realized how focused I am these days. Even though I am undecided on what marathon I want to do next — there’s no if this time around — I am extremely focused on running just to run right now.

Running remains fun, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted it to be. I’ve had fun in my “come back” this year and I can’t wait to keep having fun as I close out the year.

Of course as I type this I’m at the peak of a horrible cold. I think it started at the end of last week and just got gradually worse over the weekend. This morning I couldn’t hardly sit up for more than 10 minutes without being dizzy. I’m better this afternoon and am taking every step I can to get back out later this week for another run.

When I’ve been sick before, running is the last thing I think of, but today it’s the first. It’s all about having fun, and sitting on the couch all day hasn’t been fun.

I know for the second straight month that I’m getting away from my goal of “11 things” posts, but with the Baltimore Marathon just days away, I made a promise to myself the other day to do some reflecting.

There’s no better way to reflect than an 11 things posts. Here are 11 things that have happened during training, lessons I’ve learned, things I never posted and other random thoughts.

1. I listened to this song a lot on my long runs in the last month or so. To hear it when the sun is coming up often gave me a sense of peace and helped me find strength when I needed it most.

2. I’m pretty sure I experienced the biggest variety of weather this time around. With a majority of mid-week runs in the middle of the day, I had the hottest conditions I’ve ever run in, with temperatures often near 90 or slightly above. These past two weekends, it’s been half that at the start.

3. In a 16-week span, I ran 456.7 miles, which is 51.9 more miles than the 16 weeks prior to the Richmond Marathon last year.

4. I’ve been much more diligent about recovery runs this year with running a couple of miles or so the day after big runs.

5. I have walked 117 miles since the beginning of July 1. That’s just walking miles logged on Daily Mile. That’s miles I’ve walked at work and family walks on Sunday; actual mileage is probably a bit higher. I’ve also hiked a few times too. I wrote a long time ago about walking more and how it would impact training, and I have nothing but great things to say about it. All this walking silently pushed me over 1,000 exercise miles for the year recently.

6. As a weather junkie (see No. 2 above), I’ve been looking at long-range forecasts for this weekend as soon as they were available. Accuweather’s 15-day forecast and the Weather Channel’s 10-day forecast have surprisingly stayed consistent. Saturday is looking good right now, but I know things can change. After seeing hot weather for Chicago return this past weekend, I’m mentally preparing myself for the worse.

7. I’ve never once doubted setting my 3:45 goal. In fact, it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in training. It made my training much more intentional and focused with every run. Whether all this pays off Saturday is obviously to be determined, but I like heading to the start line in this mind frame.

8. I took my first ice bath after one of my long runs. I can’t bring myself to ice bath No. 2.

9. I stretch after all my runs — sometimes it’s just a few minutes for short runs, often it’s about 10 minutes after a long run. I rarely stretched before.

10. I ran 148 miles on Saturdays. That’s more than Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays combined. The lowest day was Monday, with 37.4 miles. In August, I stopped running on Mondays (besides 8.3 on Labor Day) when that became a regular core day.

11. I talk a lot about having fun and encourage people to always have fun on a race or run. In looking back at the past 16 weeks, I can honestly say I had fun. From the sunrises, to seeing families of deer, to laughing with co-workers on lunch runs, this has been an awesome experience.