As we come to the end of a decade, it is time to reflect on the past years.  Taking a cue from some fellow bloggers, I have put together a summary of the past 10 years.

2000

Still in high school and starting my senior year of XC.  The joys of being a senior – lots of freshmen to do your bidding.  Ran Varsity in a few meets mainly because we didn’t have a huge team and earned my letter.  I was running more for the fun we had as a team than for the running itself.

2001

All graduated from high school and on to college.  The break from running begins.  I had a few friends on the college XC team, so that kept me in the circle of running.  However, they all seemed too hardcore for me.  I did stay fairly active though: nightly pickup basketball games in the gym, intramurals, rollerblading and even the occasional 3 mile run.  I did my best to eat healthy and even gave up pop completely for over a year… that didn’t last though.

2002

I started a job over the summer (which is actually at the same company I still work at) and found out that running was a good release from the stresses of a work day.  I moved off campus at the beginning of my sophomore year.  One of my roommates was a former runner as well, and we spent some time running together.  At the end of year, some friends from college decided to set me up on a blind date with my now wife Jennie.

2003

Jennie was so repulsed by me after the first date that she transferred to a completely different college across the state (Ok, ok, the transfer was actually in place before we even met, so maybe it wasn’t me.) I continued to run, much to Jennie’s confusion.  Many were the winter nights that I would end a phone call with her so that I could squeeze in a night run in the freezing winter air.  I still wasn’t doing anything competitive; I was doing it for my health and sanity more than anything.

2004

Proposed to Jennie in the summer.  She said “Yes” (obviously).  I finished up college a semester early in December because I started with almost a semester’s worth of credits my freshman year.  I got my first real bike this year. I had bikes growing up, but they were all Toys R’ Us-esq bikes and nothing special.  For my birthday, my dad got me a Trek mountain bike—definitely the nicest bike I had owned to this point.

2005

Got hitched! That’s the best thing that happened this year, so that goes first.  Running-wise, I completed my first 25k, followed by my first marathon (Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City, MI).  It was one miserable experience followed by another (the runs that is, the wedding was amazing).  About 8 miles into the 25k, my left knee started to bother me. I pushed on and managed to finish.  I took it easy the next week or so, but decided to still do the marathon which was only 3 weeks after the 25k.  My knee lasted till about the 5 mile mark of the marathon.  I managed to keep running for about the first half, but the second half was mainly walking and jogging when I could.  After the marathon, I couldn’t run more than a mile or two without excruciating pain.  It ended up being IT band issues, and I decided to just rest it.  I took about 3 months off of running and did things like rollerblading and biking instead.

2006

After a year in the apartment with my new bride, we decided to upgrade to our first house.  After taking time off from running, I eased back into it.  It was basically like starting from scratch.  I slowly built up my mileage and was able to run the River Bank Run 25k again; without pain this year though.  Lots of projects around the house kept us busy, but I still continued to log the miles.

2007

Early in 2007, I decided to tackle the marathon again.  I needed to overcome my disappointing race in 2005.  I chose the Chicago Marathon.  I spent all summer training.  Jennie biked alongside me on a lot of my runs, which was extremely helpful—especially on the long runs.  In the end though, disappointment, again.  The 2007 Chicago Marathon was a disaster.  It will probably go down in history as one of the worst races in history.  Blistering heat led to the race being cancelled halfway through.  I did finish though.  I was at about the 20 mile mark when the race was cancelled, so the shortest distance back to Grant Park was to continue on the course.

After the Chicago Marathon, I did the Grand Rapids Half Marathon and had an amazing run.  I vowed to come back and do the full marathon at some point in the future because the course and organization was so good.

2008

I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next (Gladiator).  Ok, maybe that is a little overly dramatic, but I was not going to give up on the marathon distance without a fight.  I decided to find a smaller marathon, start training, and not sign up until just before the race.  This helped to remove the stress that can go along with signing up for a race months in advance and worrying about how training will go the entire time.  I started training with the Glass City Marathon in mind.  Training went great, and just a couple weeks before the race, I registered.  It was amazing.  The weather could have been better, but I finally had a good marathon and finished in under 4 hours.  Finally.  Victory.

Shortly after completing the marathon, I began to swim.  The first recorded swim I have was in May, and I lasted all of 26 laps.  I have to admit, when I first starting going to the pool, I was way out of my element.  I didn’t even have goggles for the first couple of weeks.  I just took off my glasses and let the chlorine burn my eyes.  I know, not very smart.

I also started biking more.  I pulled my dad’s 1976 Fuji Dyna 10 out of storage, cleaned it up, and started riding it instead of my mountain bike.  It took a while to get used to, but it was much smoother and faster than the mountain bike.  I did a few rides out to Grand Haven (35 miles), but that was about my maximum distance.

My first triathlon was in July, and I quickly followed that up with two more sprint distance tri’s (here and here) later that year.  I was hooked.

Oh yeah.  And I started this crazy adventure called blogging in 2008 as well.

2009

And we have come to the end.  What a way to end the decade.  Two marathons (both PRs), 5 triathlons including my first half Ironman, a new bike, and a slew of other races.  I started off the year with the now annual River Bank Run 25k.  This was my 5th time doing it, and I have gotten a bit faster each year.  This year was my first year under the 2 hour mark though! I also did the Sunburst Marathon in June and then the Grand Rapids Marathon in October.  The summer season was triathlon season though, with the main event being the Steelhead Half Ironman in August.  I finished in just over 6 hours, and while I was happy with how I did, I still want to do more.

So, in 2010, the journey will continue.

Stay tuned!

Another month in books.  The two highlights from October are the two running races I had.  The first was the Brooksie Way Half Marathon were I PR-ed with a 1:37:33.  The second was the Grand Rapids Marathon which was also a PR of 3:47:02.  And with that, my 2009 racing season has come to a close.  I’m still working on game plan for next year, but have been so busy with work that I haven’t been able to sit down and schedule everything yet.  Hopefully I can put together a rough draft in the next week or so.

The Numbers

I had my best day of workouts since the marathon today.  It really took a lot out of me though and now I am exhausted. 

It started out with a swim this morning.  I did a speed workout from my book.  It was a total of 2900 yards.  The warm up alone was 800 yards.  Good Lord.  I remember when my entire swim was 800 yards.  After the warm up, it was a series of 7 200’s followed by 10×50yds.  I did the 200’s at a better pace than I expected: 3:21, 3:23, 3:26, 3:27, 3:24, 3:33, 3:33 which equals out to between a 1:40 – 1:46 per 100 yards.  The last couple of intervals really took a lot out of me and struggled to get through them. The 10×50 yards weren’t as bad, but I started to feel my calf cramp up on the 7th one.  So, I took it really slow for the last 3 to let it rest.  Overall, it was a great swim and one of the harder workouts I have had in the pool in a while.

I followed up the swim with a run this afternoon.  As I planned yesterday, I did an 8 mile out and back route.  This was my longest run since the marathon and I was worried that my hamstring would act up on me.  Luckily it didn’t.  I knocked out the 8 miles in 1:05 for just over an 8:00 min/mile pace.  It was also a good mental run to do the longer out and back rather than the shorter loop that I usually do. 

I think I am going to try and add a couple of speed workouts into my running the next couple of weeks.  There is a Thanksgiving Day 5k that I might do and I would love to go under 20:00 (which I haven’t done since high school).  I think I could do it if I put the effort into focusing on speed rather than distance a couple days a week.

That’s all for now.  I have to try and get some more work done before I fall asleep on my keyboard.

A big thanks to everyone for the “Get Well” sentiments.  I think I am starting to get back to 100%.  Not quite fully there, but close.  My nose is still a little stuffy and I am blowing my nose every 5 minutes, but other than that I am good.  Nevertheless, I have been trying to get in my usual workouts.  Except for a few coughing fits on my runs, they have gone fairly well.

This past weekend, I moved my bike into the basement and onto the trainer. While I was setting everything up, I noticed the back tire looked kind of funny.  I realized that I have almost completely wore through it.  Yikes!  With how it looks, I am glad I made it home on my last ride without a flat.  I found the replacement tires I want online.  They are Michelin Krylion Carbon 25’s.  I found quite a few favorable reviews on them, so I am going to give them a try.  The tires I have now are Continental Ultra Race 25’s.  They lasted me less than 1,800 miles which doesn’t seem like a lot, so I am hoping the Krylion’s last at least 2,500 miles, if not more.  I read quite a few decisions regarding 23c’s versus 25c’s and I think I am more confused now than ever.  I decided that the 25’s have worked for me so far, so I will stick with them.

Now that I had gotten the bike inside and new tires picked out, our lovely Midwest weather decides to give a bit of heat wave (if you can call low 60’s a heat wave).  Wanting to enjoy the weather, I stopped at the LBS today to buy the new tires rather than ordering them online.  Unfortunately, they had a very limited supply because it is the end of the season.  The only 25’s they had were a set of Bontrager Selects.  They were cheap.  Only $15 each compared to the $50 for Krylions.  Desperate to get something, I bought them.  I figure that I will still order the Krylions at some point and I can use the Bontrager’s in the meantime.  They will also probably make good tires for use on the trainer because I won’t care if I burn through them.

Anyways, I now have a new rear tire (I didn’t bother changing the front one yet because it didn’t look nearly as bad).  If the weather keeps up like it is supposed to, I might do a 40 mile ride on Thursday out to Grand Haven.

As for running, my favorite loop is closed.  Ugh.  They have closed the entire road so that they can repair the bike path that is NEXT to the road.  And by closed, I mean no way around it.  You can’t really even sneak through because of the wetlands on both sides of the road and amount of constructions signs they have up.  So, no more 6 mile loop until November.  Bummer.  I think tomorrow, I will turn lemons into lemonade and get a longer run out of it.  The plan is to run around the lake up to the construction signs, turn around and head back.  That will actually turn the run into an 8 miler.  We’ll see how it goes.

I just got back from my coldest ride of the season – only 30° F when I left.  I only made it 14 miles at a 16mph pace before having to head back home to warm up.  I was actually fairly warm except for my feet.  My feet were absolutely freezing.  I think I may have to invest in a pair of neoprene booties if I continue to ride in this weather.  Otherwise, it is probably time bring the bike in for the season and stick it on the trainer.

Overall, a fairly slow week.  I had a 2 day work meeting in the middle of the week that threw off my training schedule a bit. I also spent the first couple days this week taking it relatively easy as I recovered from the Brooksie Way Half Marathon.

Weekly Totals