2008 in Review

Looking back at 2008, let's see how I did when looking at my start of year expectations.

1. Run a 5K under 30 minutes.
In March I ran a 33:19, a PR by 5:26 at the time. Unfortunately, I did not run the 5K distance after May, and can't say for certain if I would have beaten 30 minutes later in the year. I considered running a 5K last weekend for training, but I don't want to mess with my half-marathon training at this point.

2. Run a half marathon in under 2:30.
I ran the Houston Half in October at 2:33, a PR at this distance. I really feel I would have easily beaten the 2:30 goal if not for a June auto collision which kept me from training from mid-June through mid to late-August. My only other attempt at this distance later in the year was at the San Antonio Rock n Roll event, which I specifically ran slower to take in the whole experience.

3. Run a marathon. &
4. Run the SunMart 50K.
I was targeting the San Antonio full marathon and the SunMart 50K events until that auto accident (previously mentioned above) cost me too much training time. Instead I ran the the HMSA 25K in Houston in November and the Lakes at Williams Rance 30K in Sugarland in December, running each distance for the first time (i.e. 2 new PR's!)

5. Dropping 25 pounds from 254.5 pounds.
From January through mid-May I proved that running alone will not cause me to lose weight as I stayed with my exercise program and still went up to 263 pounds. From mid-May through mid-November I stuck with a fairly strict low-fat diet and got down to 223 pounds. I allowed myself to return to a more normal diet through the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's period, during which I have gained several pounds back, but am generally holding at a stable level. I'll see about continuing with this success next year.

As for 2009, I am looking forward to a good training year. I will post later about some specific goals for 2009 after I have given the subject some more thought. Currently, I am looking forward to trying my hand at triathlons, it has been so long since I have attempted any multi-sport event that I don't even remember exactly when it was. I am already planning to run the January 2010 Disneyworld Marathon, but have no other specific long distance plans; although I may return to running the 25K trail events at Huntsville State Park. In any case, I'll be back around New Year's with those 2009 goals of mine.

As I finish the year (editing this post on December 31) I have spent 15,004 minutes in exercise, training, etc.... When I started the year I set a goal 15,000 minutes. Maybe I knew what I was doing after all on that goal. I had thought this goal was dead after my auto collision recovery took nearly 2 months out of my training, but then I came on strong after my doctor released my to exercise again.