I figure it is a good time for an end of year review. For my goals, I did a pretty good job meeting them. I stayed relatively injury free, met my mileage goal of 2500-3000 miles (I would have been pushing the upper end if it weren't for my slacking plus a number of sicknesses in Nov/Dec). I did set new highs for weekly, monthly, and yearly mileage.
I placed top 3 at Striders, Logan Peak, and MMM, and barely missed my goal by placing 4th at Jupiter Steeplechase. I crushed my 1/2 marathon goal by almost a minute and a half, though I completely missed my St. George goal.
I would say the highlights of the year included the first 3 striders races, particularly the 10 mile- I really enjoyed the challenges of the hills. I got sick before the 1/2 marathon, which threw me off for the 1/2, 30k, and Ogden marathon. WBR was ok, but I don't think I'm going to do any more overnight relays- I've done 5 and the fun is gone for me. I really, really enjoyed doing my first 3 trail races- Logan Peak was a very fun, challenging course where I learned a lot about trail racing while managing to win and set a course record. Jupiter Steeplechase was just plain fun and I want to do better in 2009. The high point of the year was the 2 week period where I crushed my 1/2 marathon PR by 2.5 minutes at the TOU 1/2, and then won the MMM and almost set a course record. Fun times. That was quickly followed by the low point and my only bad race of the season at St. George. I had really been looking forward to that race and knew I was in sub-2:30 shape. However, I think I had not fully recovered from my previous races, though I still would have run a PR except for the weather. I can't complain about only having one bad race all year, though it is disappointing when it was the one I had been focusing on and building towards. I planned to take a little time off and then train the rest of the year, but a very busy schedule combined with a number of illnesses have resulted in a end of year slowdown, with only 27 miles in Dec.
Now for next year- the first think I need to do is get in shape again for the Striders series. I am really looking forward this these races. Assuming I can do the training, I want to aim for 2:35 at Ogden. If I can get that, I plan to run very few road marathons in the future. I am definitely running Wahsatch Steeplechase in June, something I have always wanted to do. Things are a bit fuzzy after that, though there will be an emphasis on trail races and ultras- potential races include the Blacksmith Fork Freedom Run 15k, Wasatch Speedgoat 50k, Jupiter and MMM, TOU 1/2, maybe pace someone at the Bear 100, run the Ogden Valley 50 miler, and maybe run NYC marathon in Nov. Who knows. First I have to get over this darn cold and get in shape. I want to run 3000+ miles and stay injury free. That is the plan for the year- should be a fun one! I'm tentatively planning on a 100 mile ultra in 2010, so I better get ready for that!
Happy New Years, everyone! | 