2010 year in review

Year in Review

2010 ended up being a decent year of running for me and my most successful running season ever. At the end of 2009 I posted my 5 goals for 2010 (see the post here). Well unlike 2009 where I met all my running goals this didn't end up happening last year. I am disappointed in that? Hell No!

Like many things in life some of these goals were not met as my focus and yearly goals changed at some point along the way. Could I have made all of my goals if I had stayed the course and kept my focus on them. Maybe ( more then likely) but at some point on the way to the road racing finish line I took an abrupt left turn and found myself in middle of the woods, literally. So here are the last years goals, results and excuses. I mean reasons. Hey I could have always gone back edited my 2010 posted goals to match up with what I actually did but what fun would that be. It was tempting, very tempting.

Last Years Goals

1. Break 20 minutes in a 5k

Fail, kind of. It didn't happen and I really didn't even get close. I ran my last 5k in March taking 12 seconds off of my PB (21:03) but after that my focus changed and my short distance speed suffered.

2. Run my first 100 miler

Success. I ran my first 100, Sulphur Springs in May and then hit another 100 at Haliburton in the fall. I also ran 2 different 24 hour events, Dirty Girls and 24hrs on the Track.

3. Stay injury free

Success, kind of. I didn't suffer any major injuries but was plagued by smaller ones in the second half of the season. In each race that I ran longer then 100k I ended up with some kind of small injury that cost me a week or two of training each time. By my account I lost about 5 - 6 weeks of training due to injury.

4. Hit my Boston Qualifier

Fail. I didn't end up running a Marathon for time (race it) last year. My plan to attempt to run my qualifier in the fall got shelved as I was busy racing other distances.

5. Up my base mileage, shoot for 5000km year.

Semi Success. I upped my base mileage from just under 4000k in 2009 to 4500k in 2010. Not the 5000k I had hoped but as one of my running friends pointed out 5000k would be a 20% increase in one year. I will settle for the 10% increase for the year. I am happy with that considering the training time I lost due to injury.

So what changed from the start of last year to the start of this year to change my focus. In a word ULTRAS. What I discovered this year is that I like running long, really really long and if its on trails thats even better. After running two 50ks last spring and then a 100 miler in May it became clear that I was having way too much fun on the trails to focus on road running. I thought in June that I might be able to dance along the line somewhere in between the two worlds but by July I found myself in the running for the Ontario Ultra Cup and an age group award so I decided to go all in. I am slowish comparably to the top guys (and girls) so what I lack in speed I had to make up for in mileage. I got my Gump on and ended up placing second in my age group in the OUSER series.

Significant Mileage Totals for 2010

longest training run (not including races)- 32 miles
longest run (race) - 100 miles
most mileage run in a week - 135 miles
lowest mileage run in a week - 0 miles
most mileage in a month - 322 miles
lowest mileage in a month - 152 miles
Number of races in 2010 - 22

Number of Marathons + Ultra races -12 (2 Marathons, 6 50ks)

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR 2010
2808.5 Miles
or
4519.9 km

Significant Race Results for 2010
Set PBs in 5k, 8k, 10 miles, Half Marathon, 30k, 50k trail, 50k road, and 100 miler.

Second in Age group Slainte 5k

Second in Age group 24hr on the Track

Second in Age group Ontario Ultra Series (top 6 ultra race finishes)

Third Overall Men in Ontario Ultra Series (total for all races)

Coming up ..... 2011 goal and racing plan