January: I became a vegetarian and started running in January. First on my treadmill, then outside, my runs were slow small affairs - 1-2 miles long with (very) frequent walk breaks. It seemed as though it would take forever to develop the ability to run races. I just wanted to try not knowing the outcome.
February: During the month of February, I was inspired and coached by my new daughter-in-law. I can't imagine how she saw my potential, but she did. She listened, taught, talked, emailed, supported, encouraged and held my emotional hand as I began to run. My son who also runs gave me wise & steady advice and heaped praise for my efforts. He too saw my potential and rather than discouraging his over 50 mother, he offered positive words, an "of course you can do it" philosophy that encouraged me to go forward. His only concern was that I not "fall & break a hip". That gave me pause; I'd never thought about my hip.....
February ended with the Fun Run with Bill & Frank - my first 5k adventure on a frigid cold New England night. Billed as a "fun run" and having no idea what a "fun run" was, I showed up at our local shoe store and joined in with the local running club's annual pre-marathon Friday night fun run. On hand for the event were 2 Olympians - Frank Shorter (1972 Olympic Marathon winner) and the equally famous Bill Rodgers - winner of 4 Boston Marathons and an Olympian in his own right. I was too green, too new to running to realize that I was 'way out of my league that night. I called for back-up and ran alone and in the dark for 45 freezing minutes, but I finished. Back at the shoe store, everyone was incredibly welcoming & supportive, especially Bill & Frank, who graciously allowed me to gush & take pictures and gave me their autographs. It was then that I thought I had a chance with this running thing. The next day I bought a pair of orthotic insoles at the Hyannis Marathon expo for my "over pronation" issue and I was good to go.
March: March brought a nasty knee injury from bowling that lingered off & on till August. I've never injured myself running, just doing other activities. Throughout the spring & summer, I iced iced iced & elevated, wore a variety of knee braces, and continued to run. I learned how to run outside in all kinds of weather. Never having been much for "weather" as in "I hate weather", I realized that I had to learn to run outside if I was ever going to call myself a runner. March in New England is not for the faint of heart but during that month I learned to love running outside. I loved timing myself, seeing how far I'd run, how many hills I'd run up, how long it took me to go from one end of my neighborhood to the other end. I mapped out a 13.1 mile running route around my neighborhood, mile for mile. March was also the month that I decided to train for the Falmouth Road Race. I registered for it and entered my name in the lottery hoping that I'd be selected along with 10, 447 other runners. I convinced a new friend I'd met to enter the lottery also and we set about to train for it and crossed our fingers we'd be selected.
April: I was sidelined much of April with the knee injury but managed to squeeze in 29 miles for the month. I decided to do a test run of the Falmouth race route. I ran 5.5 of the 7.2 miles, the longest I'd ever run. I was elated that I actually ran over 5 miles - my longest run up to that point. I realized that Sunday in April that I had a shot at finishing Falmouth. My knee was freshly sprained again, this time from running on our beach. I was beginning to love running when I had time, and my running was based entirely on two motivations: improved mood and training for Falmouth. "Falmouth" became my obsession outside of work. I wasn't sure if I'd run again after Falmouth, but I was determined to run & finish Falmouth. I was becoming a runner,
but I wasn't there yet. I lacked consistency.
May: I ran 11 days in the entire month of May, 5 of those 11 days were run while vacationing on Sanibel Island, Florida with my wife & 2 friends. I convinced them to get up at 6am five of the six days were were there and run around the resort's outdoor track. It was hotter than Hades there, but I managed to run 17.5 miles that week. What amazed me even more was that our friends actually got up at that ungodly hour and ran with me. One was an experienced runner for years; the other was my friend Jan who would eventually become my daily running partner when we returned home. I learned a lot about myself that week in Sanibel. I began to understand consistency and I recognized that I'd learned a lot about running during the winter and I loved teaching it to Jan. Jan absorbed it like a sponge. We formed an enduring friendship and running partnership that week that continued all year. I ran 37.5 miles in May.
June: June was a turning point. I joined a gym, ran a total of 53 miles, and began to do long runs on the weekends. June was also the month when I decided to train for more than Falmouth. I decided to train for a half marathon. I began to cross train too. My weeks now included circuit training at a local gym and workouts to Biggest Loser Boot Camp DVDs. I also worked with a personal trainer a few times a week. My knee continued to be painful and there were times when I thought I'd really wrecked it. I think ice should be listed as a miracle drug. Ice, Tylenol and Advil - my constant companions. June was also the month in which I ran with my 13 year old granddaughter for the first time. She ran track in school and together we tackled "Killer-manjaro" - my personal nemesis hill in our neighborhood. Avery coached me and encouraged me and I ran up that blasted hill that day faster than I'd run ever run it. I ran my first official 5K and finished with a 00:41:31 time. It was thrilling.
July: By July Jan & I were running 3-4 mornings every week including 8 mile long runs along the canal on the weekends. My knee refused to heal but I continued to train for Falmouth. July was the month Jan & I got serious about running. Jan arrived at our house at 6 am most mornings. We outfitted ourselves with summer running gear - head bands, sweat bands, Mister Fan, and lots of cold cold water. We bought hydration belts & carb shots, sunscreen and visors. One Sunday in July I ran 7 (flat) miles in 107 minutes (01:47:00). My total for July was 69.6 miles. For the first time, I noticed that my body's shape had changed. I was down 2 sizes and my abs were flatter than they've ever been. My knee was killing me, so my daughter-in-law advised I take a week off of running & doing my power sculpting DVDs until my knee was fully healed. I began to worry that I'd have to miss Falmouth if that knee was seriously wrecked.
August: I ran the Falmouth Road Race on August 9th. My official time was 01:41:39. An interesting thing happened at the start of the race. My knee was perfect that day and it's been perfect ever since. I have no explanation. After Falmouth, I registered for the Harwich 1/2 marathon on Oct. 4th. Jan & I increased our running distances. We were now running 5 miles minimum during our early morning daily runs. Our long runs on Sundays increased as we gradually worked up to 13 miles along the canal and in my hilly neighborhood. During August I also decided to put together a marathon relay team and signed up 5 friends (including Jan) for the Cape Cod Marathon Relay on Oct. 25th. I registered for the 1/2 marathon & the marathon relay after finishing Falmouth. I think there's something to this "runner's high" because I began to feel as though I could run almost anything short of a marathon and finish. When I believed I could finish, I began to think about my times and how I could improve them. Once I started to focus on my times, I realized that I was nearer to becoming a runner. But I wasn't there yet. I had to finish the 1/2 first. August's running total was a whopping 93 miles.
September: September began with Briana's invitation to run the Central Park 4 Miler. My time was 00:53:00. I wrote a blog entry about it. One of the happiest days of my life. I got Bob Harper's autograph (Bob the trainer from The Biggest Loser TV show), ran with my son and PR'd - my first. I ran a 00:13:03 mile. I'd shaved 01:38 minutes off my first 5K time in June. Unfortunately, I may have hurt my right foot during the pre-run stretching activity Bob Harper conducted. The day after the 4 Miler, my foot was swollen and I couldn't put any weight on it, couldn't get my shoe on. Looking back, I may have had a small hairline fracture or plantar fasciitis. I hurt like crazy and I had to stop running for a week. By mid-September I was running 12.5 miles with Jan again but it would be 3 months before my foot was pain-free. I have no idea what I did to that foot or what caused that much pain. September's running total was 98.5 miles.
October: I finished the Oct 4th Harwich Half Marathon with a severe back spasm and an official time of 03:12:00. The key word was "finished". I did it. I ran the Half. Jan & I ran our respective relay legs in the Marathon Relay 10/25. It was grueling but Jan did it and did it extremely well, beating my time even though we ran almost identical distances (6.3 miles). My official time was 01:22. This was Jan's longest race. We'd run a 5K together in June but none since. I was so proud of her determination and grit. She toughed it out like a pro. I started going to beginner's yoga once a week. Love it love it. Unfortunately my foot was uncooperative so I had to give it up temporarily but I'll return to it after the new year. I ended October running a 00:40:00 Halloween 5k. October's running mileage was a good 51.2 total even with my foot injury. I just could not run consistently on that foot after the Half.
November: My total running mileage increased to 61 miles during November. Jan & I continued to do 5 mile morning runs when my foot allowed it and schedules permitted. I went back to work in September after my summer vacation from teaching. Our long runs were reduced to 6 miles. My running schedule was impacted by work-related activities including a week-long trip to New Orleans (gorgeous city, terrible food). I was able to run a Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5K with an unofficial time of 00:40; this was my best time to date with a 12:05 min mile. Considering I ran a 14:30 mile during the fun run with Bill & Frank in Feb., I was ecstatic at my progress.
December: December's weather on Cape Cod has not been conducive to running outside, at least from my perspective. I don't like running in inclement weather and we've had a lot of "weather" this month. I've been constrained to running on my treadmill, which after a year of outside running, I no longer consider it "running". It's more like training. I got an iPod Nano, downloaded lots of songs to pace my time, and finished up the year running minutes at 5 mph, a 12 min mile. I've probably run about 30 miles this month, but it's hard to keep a running total from a treadmill. Very different running.
Throughout 2009, my wife was my most steadfast supporter. I would never have had the courage to do this without her love and encouragement. She had a way of finding all manner of running gear presents for me when she thought I needed them. She set the alarm for 5am and made the coffee that started me on my runs. The list is endless and unending of her devotion. My success is due in large part to her. Thank you!
So that's 2009 in review. I progressed from thinking about maybe I might possibly try to run a little to finishing a half marathon and shaving 2 1/2 minutes off my minute mile. I'm down 10 lbs and 2 sizes. My doctor is thrilled with my health. I get my cholesterol check in January and I'm expecting a good report.
Plan for 2010: Train for a marathon.
I'm a runner now.
