With the end of the year, I’m compelled to write the obligatory post where I look back and review how it all went. In all honesty, it was a very good year for me. Better than any other so far. In terms of my race times, I’m in a place now where I couldn’t imagine being before 2010 started. Yet, nothing really feels that different.
I didn’t have any real formal goals for 2010 except for wanting to sharpen my PR in the half. I went into 2010 with a half marathon PR of 1:29:16 set back in 2007. Since then, I felt I never ran a good half and as a result, never broke 1:30 again. My hope was to break 1:29, and eventually go under 1:28 at some point.
In 2010, I raced 3 half marathons. I broke 1:30, just barely, on the first attempt in the Manhattan half with 1:29:48. I was happy with that.
I then broke my PR in May, just barely, with a poor performance at the Brooklyn Half with 1:29:05.
The Queens Half was then done in July, but I switched it to a training run due to 88 degree heat and 63% humidity.
Third was the Bronx Half where I not only broke 1:29, I also broke 1:28, and came close to breaking 1:27 with 1:27:10.
To top it off, I also ran an 18 mile race with a pace of 6:44. At that pace, there is a 1:28:16 half marathon split somewhere.
Then came the Philadelphia marathon in November where my official half marathon split was 1:29:12. That split alone broke my pre-2010 half marathon PR, and I went on to PR for the whole race itself. So, For 2010, I think I can confidently say I was successful at my goals for the half marathon.
But getting back to Philadelphia and marathons in general, my lifetime goal is to eventually go sub 3. It has been a goal since I ran my first marathon in 2006, and along the way I’ve had several doubts as to whether or not this could be a possibility. I never hurt as much as I did in 2009 when I ran the NYC marathon with 3:14:54. I questioned what it would take from me to simply run that time in the marathon again and wondered if I would even be able to do it.
In 2010, I ran two marathons with the other being Boston in April. Philadelphia was nothing but a success for me. I ran the race the way I wanted and was pretty consistent overall up until I cramped up towards the end. Leg cramps seem to be something I almost always struggle with in the marathon, and I’m still not sure why. But rather than trying to prevent them, which I’m convinced I can’t, I’m learning to run through them. At the end, I crossed the line with a net time of 3:02:25. I realized that breaking 3 hours is something I will do one day.
But what made Philadelphia even more of a success was the way I went into it. I was pretty level-headed and not a bundle of nerves relatively speaking. Which is more than I can say for any prior marathons I ran, including Boston in 2010.
In Boston, I’m not sure what happened. Recent bouts of strep throat mixed with hypochondria led me to believe I was ill and almost skipped going to the starting line. Ironically, I wound up taking more than 4 minutes from my PR, finishing with 3:10:45, and to this day, I’m not sure how I pulled it off. On a good day, I wouldn’t have thought of even coming close to my PR at the time. By the way, I never got leg cramps in Boston either. Go figure.
In between I ran two ultras. Something, I’ve always wanted to try. One was 50K, and the other was a 50 miler. They were both more training runs than races. The 50K was more of a tune-up for Boston actually with no time goals. Aside from the GI problems, I enjoyed the 50K very much and would like to do another in the near future.
With the 50 mile race, although I really wasn’t racing it, I went into it thinking a pace of 8:30 or so would be doable. I fell apart somewhere passed the 30 mile mark and walked most of the end. I was under trained and under prepared in terms of hydration, nutrition, etc. I carried nothing and naively thought the aid stations would be enough.
I learned a lot, however, including that I was not yet ready to do something like this the way I would want to do it, and wrote a somewhat controversial and incoherent post about it. I decided that I could I not focus on this type of distance without it interfering with me focusing on my goal of breaking 3 hours in the marathon. With that said, I have goals of doing another 50, but have doubts as to whether or not there will be one in 2011. The JFK 50 has a somewhat appealing allure, especially since my sub 3 hour goal aligns with guaranteed entry to that race.
Other than that, I had some loose goals regarding mileage of over 200 miles a month with around 2600 for the total year. I realized the naivety of this goal and refuse to have mileage goals like this for 2011. Illness, injury, and training plans all interfere with this. Being that I’ve done 2 marathons this year for example, both requiring a taper and a recovery period, that alone has requirements that conflict with maintaining a certain amount of mileage for the month. Therefore, my goal for 2011 will just be to stay focused as I currently am and just getting in the miles week by week when I can without making excuses.
Nonetheless, despite my lack of mileage goals, a mileage summary for the year is still appropriate for a post like this.
| Monthly Mileage Totals |
|
Mileage Totals |
|
Jan |
180 |
|
|
|
Jul |
201 |
|
Year to date |
2417 |
|
Feb |
203 |
|
|
|
Aug |
205 |
|
Lifetime |
11081 |
|
Mar |
225 |
|
|
|
Sep |
200 |
|
Highest Weekly |
79 |
|
Apr |
149 |
|
|
|
Oct |
258 |
|
Average Weekly |
46.3 |
|
May |
252 |
|
|
|
Nov |
152 |
|
Average Monthly |
201 |
|
Jun |
167 |
|
|
|
Dec |
223 |
|
Yearly Goal |
-137.9 |
76 miles less than 2009, but its a minor, meaningless detail considering the success of 2010 compared to 2009.
Running goals for 2011? This will be the first year where I truly attempt to break 3 hours. I’m hoping Boston will be it. If not, I’ll try again in the Fall. And, if not in the Fall, then there’s always 2012.
I would also like to have a half marathon time with 1:25:xx. Maybe somewhat aggressive considering 1:27:10 is my current half PR, but I’ve learned the farther I reach, the farther I’ll go, even if I fail to get all the way.
Goals for this blog? None. I was unsure where I wanted this to go it when I started, and it hasn’t really taken the shape I imagined, or hoped it would. It feels it’s become something more for me than anything else, but I’m ok with that — for now. That’s not to say things can’t change in the future.
As far as “resolutions”. Well, I hate those. I don’t see why a one particular day out of the year should be one where we decide to change something about ourselves for the better. Everyday is a day I try to improve something new, or continue to work on something that I want to improve. Nonetheless, it might be appropriate to state a particular goal I’ve been focused on for a quite a time, and that is to have more patience. I feel running has helped me with that in a lot of ways. Patience, and faith.
Now, I have to learn how to apply it to the way I deal with other people.