Wednesday, December 31, 2008

2009 already!?!?!?

A new year….wow. 2008 flew by. I am one of those people that really cherish the beginning of a new year, a fresh slate, a clean start. I think those of us that are planners to a fault (I freaking love making list and filling out calendar) get a little giddy around Jan 1. This year is no exception. When I look back on 2008, it is filled with mixed emotions. The year got off to a horrible start with the unsuspected, premature death of my father. My father and I were did not have the type of relationship where we talked every day or even month, mostly he just answered the phone when I called and we exchanged small talk, but we were undeniably close as I was always daddy’s little girl. We were so much alike that it was hard to not feel like he was part of my cloth. I go many days without thinking about him and then BAM it hits me – my father is dead, I am 29 years old and have no father. It is usually something little a white Explorer will drive by (what he drove) or a box of chocolate covered cherries will sneak up on me in a store (his fav) and my insides will be reduced to mush. It’s almost been a year, but it doesn’t sting any less.

The months that followed I was very numb and I don’t recall many particulars, but I had some definite fitness highlights. I was training for the Cincinnati marathon and was very proud of myself b/c I got out there in many a snowstorm and ran my butt off, many times alone. I had my 2 best 30Ks ever in Feb and March. My running pace was finally coming down and I found in 5Ks that I could easily hold under a 9 min pace. This was new for me! On my long distance runs I was constantly well below a 10 min pace, giving me hope of being well under my goal of 4:20 for Cinti. Unfortunately a foot injury got a hold of me with a vengeance and I opted to sit Cincinnati out and took a whole month off of running. In May I had an awesome trip to Lake Placid with my friend Kim and her training group to ride and run the IM Lake Placid course. That was lesson in humility! But I was able to get through 1 loop biking and 13 miles running. The summer was full of lots of training. It seemed that every Sat & Sun were ruled by running, biking or bricks. I enjoyed training with some people from the tri club like Beth, Jen, Tracie, Janet, Gina and Laura P! As well as my normal running companions Sara, Sherri, Ilana and Karen! I felt good and strong. I only did 2 sprint tris b/c I found out the hard way that I am absolutely terrified of open water swimming, yikes! My tri future is uncertain at this point as I have only swam a handful of times since July. Not good! But I found that I really do love biking and running, so if those are the races I stick to next year than I am fine with it! Gary also got a road bike in June and we started riding together weekly, which was great. I look forward to getting back on the road with him in 2009! In late summer I started training for Akron and my times on my long runs were even better. I markedly upped by running miles and was averaging around 30ish miles running a week and 50 biking. All the biking helped and I saw my times on my long runs continue to come down. I thought I might have a shot at getting near 4:00 for the Akron marathon in Sept….until I got pregnant!

What! Yes, just like that. Gary and I had talked about it, but I thought it would take us awhile, but I was wrong. I knew I wasn’t feeling well in Aug, but thought there was just no way I was baking a baby, but I was. I continued to run 10-15 miles for my long runs for the first month or so of pregnancy to keep Sara company on her marathon training. But come Oct, I was slowing way down. In Sept, I did a marathon relay with 4 other pregnant women and we finished in under 4 hours! That was great and we even got to be in the paper. In Oct Gary and I went to CA & OR on vacation where the baby and I did a half marathon. But that was about it, I knew from that race that the running was coming to an end as I was sick for a few days afterwards and my feet and belly ached. Since then I have been trying to keep up the exercise, I have good weeks and bad. The loss of my beloved Taiko in November was just awful and led to a horrible month. Ugh then we got a really bad puppy!

2009 is scary people. I am having a baby! Hold the phone. I am going to be responsible for keeping another human alive. Eek. And I turn 30, double Eek!!! All joking aside, I can’t wait to meet this little monster and work hard to get back on my feet. I think I won’t be setting any big goals for 2009. I would like to see myself at least ready for half marathons by the fall. I want to concentrate on getting the weight off and getting back under 9 min miles before I worry about another marathon or endurance event. If I can get myself back in the pool soon, I’d like to think I could do the same 2 sprint tris I did last year and they were in small inland lakes and I didn’t have much issue with those. I would also like to do Eddy’s Sweet Corn challenge, at least the 50 miler. I think that is enough to think about. I do know that 2009 will probably be the best year yet.

1 comments:

Trishie said...

Sounds like a very full 08 and a very exciting 09. :)

About Me

My Photo
Mnowac
distance runner attempting to run a marathon in every state, vegetarian foodie, mediocre triathlete, sucky swimmer, mommy to Harper, tea lover, coffee drinker, animal saver, hubby snuggler, race addict, full time working 31 year old living in cleveland
View my complete profile

Marathons so far

  • Sept 2012 - Corning, NY - TBD
  • April 2012 - Louisville, KY - TBD
  • Sept 2011 - Erie PA - 4:25
  • June 2011 - South Bend IN - 5 hrs+ (it was 98 degrees!)
  • Dec 2010 - Rehoboth Beach DE - 4:26:06
  • Nov 2010 - Huntington WV - 4:11:44
  • Oct 2009 - Towpath - Cleveland area OH - 4:30:35
Powered By Blogger

Total Pageviews