First off I'd like to wish you, my faithful readers, a very happy New Year. All the best for 2011, and if you have set some goals, not necessarily a running goal, but if you start on any path towards some sort of accomplishment then I hope you fulfill your goal and that you learn something great about yourself in the process.
I had a great 2010 both from a personal and running perspective. So here is a review of my year of running.
Total for 2010 - 144 runs - 1237.83 km
January - 6 runs - 31.12 km
A pretty quiet start to 2010 with only 6 runs in January, most of those on the treadmill. My goals for the year were to go under 2 hours in the half-marathon, under 50 minutes in the 10 km, under 25 minutes in the 5 km and log more than 750 kms.
February - 7 runs - 48.99 km
A slight increase in mileage as well as the Winterman 10 km race clocking 57:24, a satisfying result considering the snowy and slippy conditions that day. The race was a lot of fun, there were 5 km, 10 km, half marathon, and marathon distances available, with all races starting at the same time with a commitment to race in whatever the prevailing conditions. We got pretty lucky with minus 15°C, a light dusting of snow and very little wind.
March - 12 runs - 75.38 km
March didn't get off to a good start, I picked up a nasty cold and except for one 3 km run I was unable to train at all for my first chip-timed 5 km race. I went into the St Patrick's Day 5 km with a goal to run as fast as my lungs would let me. I was accompanied by my friend Carlos and we clocked 26:32 and 27:28 respectively. This turned out to be a personal best for me, although I had a fair bit of trouble breathing, especially from 3 km onwards. The best part is that this race really lit a fire in me and I really knuckled down with the training, increasing the length and pace of my threshold runs and slowly increasing the length of my weekend easy/long runs.
April - 14 runs - 135.48 km
Continuing on from the enthusiasm I had gained in March I pressed on towards a "tune up" half marathon with a number of threshold runs, long runs and hill repeats. The tune up half marathon came in the shape of the Minto Run for Reach race. My intention was to try out a couple of paces (5:45/km and 5:35/km) and see how long I could maintain them over 21.1 kms. The race course was from City Hall in Ottawa, down beside the canal along Queen Elizabeth Drive to Dow's lake and back twice. This race turned out to be a huge success for me with me running all 21.1 km without stopping to walk (for the first time ever) and the first time I was able to run the half marathon in a sub-2 hour time (1:56:39). This month ended up being my second highest month of the year for total distance run despite having to take a week off right before the Run for Reach with a painful tibialis anterior (shin) muscle.
May - 11 runs - 128.43 km
Buoyed by my unexpectedly good performance at the Run for Reach, I pressed on towards what I had envisioned at the start of the year as my A-race, the National Capital Race Weekend Half Marathon. I started to dream about a possible sub 1 hour 55 and set my training accordingly. Unfortunately the injury bug struck again, my left Achilles tendon and lower calf cramped up hard after a trail run with my brother-in-law, I could barely walk the next day. After a few days off and some treatment with ice, I resumed training albeit at a slightly lower intensity. Then 1 week before the big race, I had pain in my right heel, probably as a result of plantar fasciitis. Worried that my big race plans were in tatters before I had even started, I took a week off running and babied the heel. This course of action did the trick as I was able to run the whole race without any pain problems, however I didn't have the race of my dreams, suffering from too fast a pace at the start and losing a lot of energy weaving in and out of the 11,000 strong field. My pace dropped off and the last 6 kms were a death march with only the amazing crowd responsible for getting me home 4 seconds ahead of the 2 hour mark (1:59:56). I was disappointed with the time, but I had broken 2 hours again and learned a few valuable lessons about pacing and running my own race.
June - 12 runs - 118.64 km
A switch in focus saw me gearing towards breaking 50 minutes in the 10km. After the disappointment of the National Capital Half Marathon, I was wary of pacing and formulating a plan and then sticking to it. The Alterna "do it for Dad" 10 km provided a great opportunity for redemption. My plan was to see how close I could hold my pace at around 5:05/km and then try and finish strong and perhaps get closer to the sub 50 minute goal I had set myself at the start of the year. I stuck to my plan and came through the halfway split in 24:53, the first time I had ever run a 5 km in sub 25 minutes. The second half of the race featured a 2 km uphill stretch, knowing that my pace was going to suffer I slowed it down with a plan to run the last 2 kms downhill as fast as I could without blowing up. This turned out to be a good strategy with only 2 runners passing me in the 2nd half of the race I made up 12 places (i.e. passed 14 other runners) and hit the line at 50:15, just shy of the sub 50 minute time goal, but a huge personal best (down from 53:55). With a smoking 4:22 in the last km of the race I felt I had broken a mental barrier running kms consistently under 5 minutes.
July - 10 runs - 83.07 km
After running the first half of the Alterna 10 km race in under 25 minutes I was itching to do a 5 km race where I could run it that bit harder and make the sub 25 minute goal for a 5 km official. A number of races were available on Canada Day (1st July) so I opted for one that I was most familiar with, since its route bore a resemblance to one of the routes I run on my lunch hour at work. The route started with about 800 meters of uphill, so I took it easy and then ramped it up on the downhill and flat sections. Despite having a bit of a chesty cough, I was able to run a great race and ended with 23:41. The rest of July was tough, with extremely hot and humid conditions. In effect my running was kept to a minimum, although I had a really nice run around Lac Boivin in Granby, Québec whilst staying there with my family.
August - 13 runs - 123.30 km
Back on track in August and now the focus was on the Army Half Marathon. I was desperate to redeem myself for the disappointing performance at the National Capital back in May. The improved 5 km race time gave me some challenging paces to train by, and without any races in August I was able to knuckle down and put in a lot of great training sessions and recover well.
September - 12 runs - 121.79 km
Continuing on from August in the final stretch of training before the Army Half Marathon, I made good strides in training hard and recovering well. I definitely started to feel an improvement in post run recovery that has come with all adaptive physiological changes my body has made due to all the kilometers I have logged over the last 2 and a half years.
On the morning of the Army Half Marathon I made a plan to start at a slower pace than my goal pace (5:10/km) and then ramp it up to see how I felt, if I could sustain the pace then perhaps take it up another gear near the end. The conditions for the race were perfect and I got off at the pace I wanted, managing to guard against getting carried away with the excitement of the race and the paces of the other runners. I quickly settled into a nice pace that felt good, going through 5 kms in 25:20. The next 5 kms featured quite a few hills both up and down and I managed my pace accordingly, still feeling nice and comfortable I hit the 10km split at 51:04 (25:44). At this stage I really felt that my race plan was working and it was just a case of sticking with the plan and counting off the kilometers, reaching 15 km in 1:16:40 (25:36). With 6 kms to go I put the second part of my plan into affect, to run the rest of the race like a threshold run. I ramped up the pace to a level that felt "comfortably hard" and just went with it for the rest of the race, barely looking at my watch, just focusing on running with good technique and seeing if I could hold on to the end. My training had prepared me for this, the countless threshold runs, running at a fast pace on tired legs, I actually managed to finish with a good kick in my stride with a 4:37/km pace over the last 500 meters, stopping the clock at 1:48:50 (30:23 for the last 6 km), a massive personal best by almost 8 minutes, a great reward for sticking to the plan.
October - 13 runs - 96.24 km
Two races in October, a 5 km race run by the Wellness Charitable Campaign and the Rattle-me-bones 10 km. The 5 km race was on a Thursday lunchtime as it was a race that was part of a charitable campaign that agencies within the Federal Government participate in. It was along a notoriously windy section of the Ottawa River parkway. I battled with the strong winds in the middle section of the race and used the wind at my back to break my 5 km personal best one more time, with a time of 22:32. I was really pleased with that as I ran at an average pace of just over 4:30/km which for me would have been utterly unthinkable at the start of the year. The 10 km race was to be my last race of the year and an opportunity to cross the last goal off my list; to break 50 minutes for a 10 km race. The conditions for this race were pretty cold and windy, and although I didn't hit the pace I wanted throughout the race (4:45/km), I ran as hard as I could and ended up with a satisfying 49:22.
November - 16 runs - 133.31 km
Basically just seeing out the year on a good note, with no races to train for, but plenty of enthusiasm to get out there and run. With 16 runs, this month set a new high for most runs in a month. This level of commitment will serve me well in my training for the marathon in May 2011.
December - 18 runs - 142.08 km
Rather than finish the year off with a whimper, I set new personal records for: runs in a month (18) and distance run in a month (142.08 kms). Thus finishing the year as I want to start the next one.
Let 2011 begin!!!
