New Year and some resolutions...

The post-marathon part my running year was less than spectacular. I had a rough going in the weeks following the marathon. My hips and quads just weren't responding well after the race, and getting "back in the swing" was difficult. A week later, a ran a mile, and then iced. A few days later, I tried a mile and a half. A few more days, and it was two miles. But a good 2 weeks later, and I still felt pretty crappy running.

I worked my way back up to 4 miles over the coming weeks, but every run felt bad. Worse, I had put back on ALL the weight I had lost in the previous 5 months in a matter of 5 weeks. So, feeling achy and fat, and with a week before the Manchester RR, I stopped running. I didn't even think about it. Instead, I got back to coaching football for a while (it's weird to be there so rarely, after being consumed with it for 6 years each fall). On Thanksgiving morning, I felt okay, and I ran the race. It was a good run, but crowded. Sure enough, with about a mile left, my legs went dead. I just didn't have anything left in the tank. Amazing, as it had only been 6 weeks since the marathon, and I hadn't really stopped running. So, I cruised into the finish, found the mominlaw (she beat me by 4 minutes...speed demon), bought a beer and a donut, and decided to relax.

Since then, I've been rebuilding my base. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, I tried to get 8-10 quality miles in a week. Some of those have been on the elliptical or PreCore just to save my joints. Last week, I was able to get in 12, and felt good. This week, I've done 9+ to close out 2009. I wish I kept my mileage all year, because I think that I'd be very impressed (resolution #1 for 2010, keep track of all my mileage run, walked, or on a machine).

Today, it snowed about 4 inches. I'd like to run a 5k tomorrow, New Year's morning, but I'm not even sure if it's being held. I think this is the right way to start my year. Last year, it was all about the quantity of mileage, trying to get through with marathon training. This year, I've got two more resolutions: regain the speed I lost in building my endurance AND get slimmer. Both should have some simple fixes-RUN, do crunches*, and cross train.

Should be no sweat, if I stick to it, and let everyone know I'm going to do it. OKAY, it should be a lot of sweat, but I'll do it if I know people are checking up on me. So, there I am. Resolutions are out there...Hopefully I run that race tomorrow, but if not, I'll bust my ass around the neighborhood for a 5k, instead. You know, just to let 2010 know that I mean business.

Crunches plan: 50/day for January, 60/day for February, 70/day for March, 80/day for April, 90/day for May, 100/day for June-forever. In July, we start the same progression with push-ups. You know, I thought I'd ease into things.