Looking back, looking forward: 2010 in Review

There is something about changing the date on the calendar that makes us all want to look back at our mistakes and successes of the past twelve months. So briefly here are some reflections on this past year of my running life.

Looking back just a bit further, 2009 was a pretty bad year for me running-wise. I got injured in the spring and missed all my favorite races. In the fall of 2009 I struggled to get back my lost fitness; I was just barely turning the corner by December. The year did end on a good note though. My last run was on an early, cold morning in Toronto, with someone I did not know well at the time but would later become a good friend and my new coach.

In January through April of 2010 I continued to rebuild and regain my running fitness. In May I had a great comeback race at the BMO Half-marathon in early May. Things continued to improve as I ran a strong 10k race in June (and won a bet!), and then went on to race a PB half-marathon at the end of the month (Scotiabank Half-marathon, 1:49:28).

In July and August I focused on marathon training towards my third marathon: the Goodlife Victoria Marathon on 10-10-10. Although I did not achieve my goal of a sub-4:00 time, I thoroughly enjoyed the training and the race. I was able to carry thorough the fitness gains to some strong fall races, including a PB time at the Haney to Harrison relay and another sub-1:50 Half.

This year I will have run over 3100K, easily my best year of running since I started seven years ago. This is the first year I have been able to run consistently without injury through the entire year. I look forward to continuing to build on this success with some new goals for 2011. The ultimate objective will be consistent running and continuing to find joy and satisfaction in it all.

Happy New Year, everyone.