Friday, January 3, 2014

Years End, Years Begin

I’ve been humming a Tori Amos song for a week or so.  I love having her songs stuck in my head.  This one has been Pretty Good Year:

Tears on the sleeve of a man
Don't wanna be a boy today
Heard the eternal footman
Bought himself a bike to race
And Greg he writes letters
And burns his CDs
They say you were something in those formative years
Hold onto nothing
As fast as you can
Well still pretty good year

It has been a pretty good year.  I turned 50 without the sky turning into a poisonous garden, or falling.  I had an injury free running year that I feel good about the results.  Most importantly, Jeanne has agreed to crew me, for life.  We’re getting married in July.

I’ve blathered on and on about my realizing that PR’s are no longer a way to measure success, but I still know all of the times and splits and they still are the default goal for me in any race.  I almost popped a half marathon PR at The Cascade Half Marathon in Turner in January.  I missed it by 25 seconds.  My hamstrings were a wreck for a week, which is how I know I really pushed it.  I did PR 24 hours at Pacrim in Longview WA in March.  I had gone with a goal of 100 miles so I was a little disappointed with only getting to 77 in some pretty nasty weather.  I felt like I ran a very solid marathon in Newport in June, and then had a blast running 50 miles on my 50th birthday.  The highlight race of the year was Le Grizz 50 miler in Montana in October.  Spectacular scenery running along the Flathead River near Glacier National Park and one of my better performances in ultra distances.  I wrapped the year up with a Dawn to Dusk run on Dec 21st, covering 42 miles from sunrise to sunset and completed my 6th consecutive year of at least 2,000 for the year.

I’ve got plans for 2014 but none bigger than marrying Jeanne in July.  So far the “It’s about time” responses have seemed to outpace the “congratulations” about 4 to 1.  We will spend a week on Orcas Island for a honeymoon, which I’m also really looking forward to.

Running plans are a little bit lighter this year.  I should hit 20,000 miles run sometime in late February early March, so I’ll need to figure how how to celebrate that, with food.  I’m running the ORRC 10K Series.  6 races spread out over the year, with accumulated points to get all geeked out about stats and times.  I’ll run the Vernonia Marathon in April.  I’m not sure how much speed training I can get by then, but the 10k training and racing should help quite a bit.  My A race for the year will be Elijah Bristow 24 hour in Dexter OR in June, where I’ll stalk 100 miles again.  I haven’t really decided on a Fall race, but right now I’m thinking either a marathon or 50k feels right.
I have all sorts of resolution ish thoughts, regarding running and health.  More yoga and core strengthening.  More speed and hill work.  Being more proactive about chiro and massage, instead of using it to put me back together.  Better eating habits, less late night eating, more fruits and vegetables.  But I don’t really make resolutions or I end up disappointing myself.  Still I hope to keep these things in the front of my mind and do better at them.

So, I’ll start 2014 with my first video imbedded in a blog: