Looking Ahead

Thankfully it is time to close out the year 2011. It was a long year and I learned how much I miss not being able to run and how I am not made to be a sedentary person. The highlight this year was getting hip surgery and feeling the hope that I can recover my stride enough to run pain-free and fast. I only did two races this year. The first was the Feel Good Farms Snowshoe race back in January and that will go down as one of the most difficult and challenging races I have ever completed (well I only did 1/2 of it). The other race I completed was the slowest and most humbling race I have ever done with the Thanksgiving day Turkey Gobbler race. I hope to put 2011 behind me and start all over again.

Today I ran 5 balmy New Years Day miles to start off the year. That gave me 20 miles for the week. I am not going overboard and building up slowly.

Monday: 1 mile Treadmill
Tuesday: 5 mile Treadmill
Wednesday: 3 miles Treadmill
Thursday: day off
Friday: 4 miles in Falmouth
Saturday: 2 miles Treadmill
Sunday 5 miles

For the year ahead I just want to run healthy and consistently. I look forward to racing (slowly at first), training long, running with friends, hard Gate City Strider track workouts (strangely I missed doing hot hard track workouts most of all-I think because the effort reminds me of running in high school and college-without them I feel real old), and losing all the weight that I have gained in the past year (yikes!).

Sure I have goals. My true running goal is the sub 3 hour marathon (it won't be this year). I have time goals and race goals, but I will be happy just turning the sinking ship around and being able to lace up a pair or running shoes each day and putting in a good 8 miles or so and coming home without feeling all the aches and pains.

Best wishes for a healthy New Year to all my running friends!