Running in 2010 - Year in review

Some, including myself could call 2010 a bad year for running.  Of course there’s good reason for that, but personally, I give this year a A-.  I had 2 main races I wanted to do well in during the first half of the year, then I would raise my base mileage substantially over the summer months, for an undetermined Ultra distance race (or two) in the fall.  I wasn’t going to decide which one(s) until the summer as I had big fish on my plate already.

Coming into the year, I knew I was running on an almost empty mental tank.  I had been running hard NON-STOP for over 28 months, not having taken more than 7 days off at any time other than after a hard road marathon.  Those were needed recovery days and not actual rest days or time away from the sport.  I’d been going hard, hard, hard with first the goal of qualifying for Boston, then a heartbreaking Boston in 2009 where I cramped with 2.5 miles to go and missed my sub 3.  I immediately set my sights on the following year to get the sub 3 done.

  

In my mind, nothing was going to stand in my way to fail.   I decided to take the fall of 2009 marathon season off and instead run higher mileage and train for a couple of ultras to build an even bigger base.  I did great in buildup races, second overall in a 60km, 3^rd overall in a 50miler in 2009, but then failed miserably in my “A” race in Jan 2010 at the 100km in Bandera.  Part of it was mental burn-out, the other was being a mental-baby.  No excuses.  I sucked it up BIG TIME dropping out at mile 40 because my head just wasn’t in the game even though physically I felt great. 

I had no option but to quickly forget about the ridiculous failure, and used it as anger/fuel for my assault on a sub-3 in Boston.  In February, I helped pace a good friend to his Boston Qualifier (3:19:34) and even that was a very gratifying experience for me.

Then my race in Boston almost didn’t happen, due to some muscle issues in the quad down by the right knee, but I was determined to not fail.  Half a dozen doctor’s visits, and all kinds of other stuff on race day, helped me reach the start line where there was no other option.  (race report here) Thinking back, I still can’t really explain how I held it together for the last 34 minutes (+/- 4.5miles) but I did.  What started out as a dream to run a half marathon 5 years ago, then to simply complete a full marathon, turned into a Boston qualifying adventure I never dreamed I would ever achieve.  To then, run what to me is a time I only thought “fast” runners could ever run, was something so satisfying that I honestly achieved something inconceivable – a day and a performance I will always turn to throughout my life. It was an absolute game-changer in many, many, ways.

3 weeks later, I was off to run the most amazing “fun” run of my life in the Grand Canyon with a dozen friends.  Those 48 miles were incredible.  (Photos and videos of the run here).   It was a little painful to run 48 miles after not having run more than 27 miles since January, and I had no significant hill training to get out of that canyon twice (5000ft x 2).  Man was that last climb out brutal, but like JT said the first time he ran it… “The run of a lifetime!”

Late May I took a well deserved, but catastrophic 3 weeks off running.  In hindsight I should have simply decreased my weekly mileage from an average of 75 to 25-30 to keep things loose.  That is what I believe caused this show-stopping IT Band issue I have enjoyed since June 8.  I’m wound pretty tight to begin with, and I truly believe that taking 3 weeks to just sit on my couch, eat chips ‘n salsa, and drink beer, killed me coming back to running.  I ramped up a liiiiittle bit too fast on very very tight legs and the rest was history.

I will end the year with about 1,300 miles. (2009 was 2,900ish)  Only 200 of those were run over the last  6 months.

Some people (and even I) can look at this 6 month injury as a huge negative, but if you told me at the start of the year:  "You can only run a sub-3 in Boston and then the grand canyon rim to rim to rim, IF you take the following next 6 months off", call me crazy, but I’d pick that option any day.   That’s how bad I wanted the Sub 3 in Boston and how much I enjoyed the GC.  

As much as Bandera sucked after putting a ton of work in for it, and as much as the last 6 months have been highly frustrating, this was one year of great great running!  I just happened to pack it all in on the front end!