So, I Suppose It's Time to Begin Again

More for historical recording purposes than anything else. My memory isn't what it once was. For example, I never forced myself to sit down and write about my Burning River experience in 2011. While the memories are still there, they're not as vibrant as they were a year ago. As a quick scroll down the page will show, my blogging ended with my finish at BR. Why? I don't know exactly why. I didn't want to write about it. I didn't feel the need to write about it. Looking back, I kind of wished I would have. I'm sure my BR memoirs would have been much more interesting coming from a fresh experience rather than a year removed.

2012 was a "down" season for me. I was drained both physically and mentally. I had zero desire to write about any training, racing, or whatever. I stopped keeping track of my mileage like I used to. My training was sporadic at best and my racing suffered as a result. There was no consistency. 2012 was also "The Year of the Beer." Heather and I have drank our way through The Winking Lizard's World Beer Tour. THAT, as it turns out, is incompatible with training and I'm lucky I haven't put on a ton of weight. We've reached our 100 beers (apiece), receiving our tour finishers' jackets, and are nearly done with 150 as a team to achieve the stretch-goal of a hooded sweatshirt. It takes a lot of time (and $) to drink 100+ beers. That time has to come from somewhere. Training. I'm relieved the tour is nearly done, I'm excited to go after some major races next year, and I feel the need again to write about what I'm doing.

What's on tap for 2013? I'm hoping for a road 50K PR at Green Jewel in March. Since I have yet to run that race up to my potential, I think I've got a good shot. I would like to go under 5 hours, but we'll see. At the spring NorthCoast 24 Hour Endurance Run in April I want 100 miles. I could have had it last spring and I let it slip through my fingers. In May at Rite Aid, I hope to run a new PR for the half marathon, going under 1:30 if possible. June brings the Mohican 50 Miler. This will be more of a training run, but I've never run a 50 so it's an automatic PR, as long as I finish. I've decided to enter Burning River again and July brings me my big run for the year. I don't need to finish faster, I just want to finish, hopefully without the lingering hip pain I had after 2011. I originally signed up for the Akron Marathon the day after I ran this year with the desire for redemption. My run started out well enough, but fell apart mid-way and the whole second half was miserable. With BR now on my plate, I don't know what the plan for Akron will be. There may be additional small races thrown in, but those are the biggies.

Of course, the only constant is change, so plans can be fluid. I'm mad a myself for having such a crappy season this year, which is good because anger REALLY motivates me, and I intend to focus on these events, train for them with an intensity I haven't unleashed in a while, and push myself to achieve these goals. We shall see how this all plays out.

I'm also REALLY hoping the Mayans are wrong.