I have never been big on New Year’s Resolutions. I find them to be somewhat silly – seriously, if you want to do or change something, why not do it the moment you think of it? Why wait for the turning of the calendar?
That being said, I must admit, there is something about wiping the slate clean and starting anew.
While I was out for a run on Saturday, I spent my time contemplating 2011 in terms of running and fitness. I started that year with a bang, averaging nearly 200 miles per month for the first 5 months. But then something happened. I interpreted it as losing my mojo, but if I’m going to be completely honest with myself, I think I just burned myself out. Even with big races on the horizon (Around the Lake in July, the Vermont 50 in September and the New York City Marathon in November) I just couldn’t get myself motivated and back into a rhythm.
I kept telling myself, “next week…next week I’ll get back into it”, but it just never happened. I ended the year probably averaging less than 50 miles per month over the last 3 or 4 months (that’s including the races!).
As I ran my quick 4-miler on Saturday, I looked back at 2011 with some regret and disappointment. For a year that started off so promisingly in regards to running, competitively it ended in the dumps.
But now, it is 2012 – nothing has changed except the number at the end of the calendar. Nothing has changed, yet maybe everything has changed.
I now have a clean slate. 2011 is gone. 2012 is here.
I don’t know if I have it in me to ever hit 3:15 in a marathon (what I need to get back to Boston as a qualifier). After pouring so much energy into reaching Boston in 2011 as a qualifier, maybe that fire is gone. That doesn’t mean that I won’t try come May at Sugarloaf. My 18-week training plan starts next Monday. My plan is to train hard, but not burn out – for that reason I am going to stick to the Pfitz 18/55 plan as opposed to the 18/70.
2011 ended in a mess – my running was haphazard and inconsistent at best. 2012 won’t start off with the explosion of miles that 2011 did, but hopefully, I will be able to find a steady, consistent pace…that IS what running a marathon or longer is all about, right?
Run Luau Run 