Looking back on 2009

As I reach the end of this year, I realized that I should take a moment for myself to assess what I’d been through.  2009 was an interesting year as my first foray into endurance running, being an athlete beyond the casual recreational sport leagues and trying to find new ways to motivate myself to keep the weight off.

I ran slower over the course of the year.  It took me a bit to really let that sink in, but it is a pure fact.  My first 10K was in February, at 45:48 or roughly a 7:23 split.  My fastest pace was in April, a 43:11 time for roughly 6:57 per mile.  The last 10K of this year I ran at 46:29 or 7:30 per mile.  Now, I did learn that there’s really no way to compare the races to one another.  The courses are different, the time of the year, weather, etc. makes them different challenges. But, there is no denying that my time gradually slowed over the course of 2009.  I can point to a couple of specific reasons, but I’m not sure I can do anything about them.  By the February race, I was down to 155 lbs and found out I was starving my body.  The trainers at the gym started me on a slow weight gain that took me to what is now effectively 165 lbs, or was for sure at the point of the half marathon.  10 pounds means a slower body, period.  I know that over the time, I only put on 1 inch around my waist, so it wasn’t all fat, but even the extra muscle mass takes more to move and it affected my pace.  I was just disappointed to see this was the case.

The other issue?  The damned training for the half marathon!  I injured myself, I got sick as a dog and I abandoned a lot of my other training for the sake of getting used to the distance.  No two ways about it, the half marathon program really seemed to do me more harm than good.

So, I can’t grouse.  I am healthier now than I was at the first of the year, even if slower.  I am more fit now than I was at the first of the year, even if slower.  I just had to make the decision to do better for 2010.

To that end, I have designed my own training program for the next half marathon.  I put in one day per week that’s hill running, or the best approximation I can get on a treadmill.  I change the incline and over the course of the run make it more and more steep.  I was doing a lot of that prior to the first 10K and I think that if I get back to it this time, it will be a definite help.  I’ve also put back in the aerobic base training.  These are runs where I’m less concerned about the total distance as I am the heart rate.  I’d like them to get longer in total distance, but if I have to slow down to adjust my heart rate, that’s more the preference.  I modified the speed work to be more cardiac threshold training.  Less about the distance, more about the intensity.  I don’t know if it will help with overall pace, but it keeps me running at speeds faster than I’m doing for distance.  I left in the long run from the half marathon program, but I’m trying a new variant.  Since I had been able to run at 7:44 for the 13.1 miles, and had done most of my training at 8:00, I decided I should push up the speed gradually until I was running 12 or more miles at 7:30 in training.  That should allow by race day to be used to some pace faster than 7:45.

Now, the point of this was I wanted to document my personal records (PR) for 2009 so that I could come back to them and see where I stood in 2010.

• 5K (IBM Employee Appreciation Day Race) 21:40
• 10K (Cary Road Race, April) 43:11
• 10M (Anna’s Angels, September) 1:16:29
• Half Marathon (Rex Hospital Half Marathon, November) 1:41:14

I have to say that my first full year as a competitive runner was a massive success.  I learned a lot about my body, managed to keep the weight under control, and finished in the top 10% of every race I’d entered all year.  At 41 (now 42) that’s a lot to say considering I had no running experience before this year.

I’ve registered for the same race that started this for me.  The Anderson Creek Club 10K is set for February 6th, 2010.  I also have registered for the Shamrock Half Marathon which was originally going to be my first half marathon.  I’m hoping that the lessons I learned in 2009 are reflected in the results in these two races.  I was 5th in my age group at this 10K, a small race, and I’d really like to make a top 3.  I am also hoping to go from a 7:44 pace to 7:30 for the half marathon, which would put a 95 minute half marathon well within my grasp for 2010.  I am trying to find a race per month, but that seems a difficult challenge if I don’t take on a few more 5K.  I don’t really like the distance though, so I can’t say I’ll run more than the one I run because it’s free. LOL

If you are a reader, I promise that 2010 will involve more writing to this blog.  I promise it will have more links to the things I’ve found to motivate me.  I also promise it will likely still sound like a self indulgent bit of tripe, but it is my blog!

Cheers!