I think I’ve set a new pr for a belated blog post – reviewing last year 44 days into the new year. I think handful of short paragraphs would be more appropriate than a long essay.
In 2010 I ran less, ran fewer miles, raced less, and was overall slower than 2009. While none of that is positive, I did have some good moments, learned some valuable lessons, and finished the year on the right track.
Looking back at most of 2010, my training was hot & cold. At times I was pushing my training too hard, and other times cutting corners when what I really needed was consistency.
My first mistake was trying to jump right into a serious racing schedule after a long & busy season over the 2nd half of 2009. I only took one week off, and was right back into race specific workouts to run the New Year Eve race in Chattanooga. After that, I tried (unsuccessfully) to PR at the Kaiser Half Marathon in February, then the plan was to be ready for a 12k and 10miler in march, then in 5k shape for the April races, and then of course be a mountain running machine for the Dipsea Race in June.
It’s great to have big goals, but I really lacked a big picture. After a disappointing race at Kaiser, I let my training slack off a bit through February. Then after regrouping toward the end of March, a sprained ankle knocked me out for a month. A crash course training schedule got me ready for the Dipsea on 5 weeks of training. After that, an inconsistent summer ended with a calf injury. Finally in September, I focused on getting myself healthy, and slowly building my weekly mileage starting from an easy 30, up to 55 by the end of the fall.
There were a few bright spots. I was very happy with the Across the Bay 12K in March running a PR of 39:42, and finishing 16th in a competitive PA race. Then just 5 days later I ran my best 5K since college in 15:49 at a track meet. The Dipsea was a very solid and exiting race despite very limited preparation. Finally I capped off a limited cross country season with a good race at the PA Championships.
2010 vs 2009 comparisons
2028 total miles run (2272 in 2009)
273 days run (295 in 2009)
Averaged 5.6 miles / day (6.2 in 2009)
Averaged 7.4 miles per day that I ran (7.7 in 2009)
4 PRs (12K, 5K, mile, Dipsea) vs. PRs in just about every distance except the 5k for 2009
Best finish in a PA race – 16th: twice – Redding 10 miler, and Across the Bay 12K vs 3 different 6th place finishes in 2009)
Times I lost to a girl: once in 2010 (to Kate O’Neil at the Marin 10K) vs once in 2009 (to Kate O’Neil at the Kaiser Half Marathon)
Looking ahead: While I plan to race at a range of distances in the first half of 2011, my training is geared toward a single focus – improving my 5K performances. I’m well on my way to toward building a good mileage base, and this time around emphasizing track workouts over tempo runs (although still getting a couple tempos in each month). I’m also spending more time working on my speed. If I can improve this part of my running repertoire, I think it will pay dividends across the board.
