Friday, January 1, 2010

Zen in 2010


Happy New Year!!!

I promised myself I wasn't going to fall prey to the "recap" blog. "We will not regret the past, nor wish to shut the door on it"...

Day by day I read great recap blogs. My "non-recap" recap blog began forming inside my head during my runs over the last week...lol. I thought about all 11 of the races I ran last year. There were some highs and some lows. Feb. '09 I ran the Tybee 5 mile race in 53:10. This past Tuesday I ran 5 miles in 43:32. Holy Toledo, I have taking 10 minuted off of my 5 mile time this year!

I began in earnest training for my first marathon last year. I have had barstool dreams of running a marathon most of my adult life. I even started training for one back in 2004 with Team In Training, only to drop out halfway through the program. I was determined to run this marathon and running the Equinox Marathon absolutely was one of the greatest experiences in my entire life.

Much like the stock market in the beginning of the year, my PR's plummeted. Race after race I continued to drop my PR with the final one coming last night as I ran a 51:35 10K at a race held on the golf course at the resort I work.

Let's look forward for a minute to the year ahead. I have a full race schedule planned and will attempt to cover almost every race distance available from the 1 mile to 50K.

Tybee Half Marathon 2/6/10 This will be my first race at this distance~Instant PR!I will be shooting for a sub 2 hour performance. Also, I will get to meet CJ...should be fun

I am looking at two different marathons in NC on the 21st of March. Either the Tobacco Road or Wrightsville Beach.

I plan on using that marathon as my final training run for the Sweetwater, wait for it,....50K U L T R A on April 3rd.

By this time, I will know if I got a lottery slot into the NYC Marathon. Otherwise I will add another Autumn marathon to my schedule.

Looking at the shorter distances, I plan on running the Savannah Mile, with a goal of 6:45 or less. I ran it in '09 with a mile time of 7:19.

There are a handful of 5 and 10K's I will add to the schedule just to round it out. This gives me a lot to look forward to in the upcoming year.

My number one goal for 2010 is to stay healthy and continue to improve my overall fitness. I lost 25 pounds during 2009 and would like to lose another 20 in the next year. As I continue to lose weight, my times will continue to drop. I would like to break 4 hours in the full, 49 minutes in the 10k and dare I say it, 22:59 5k...

Although this blog is titled Georgia Snail; it is not all about me.

In 2010 I will give back and work towards being less selfish. I would like to volunteer at a couple of races and move forward with my goal of organizing a race to benifit the local Autism Foundation. I am going to try to help my fellow man whenever my HP allows me.

I want to finish this post with a great thank you to all of my fellow bloggers. Your comments and constant encouragement has made a huge impact in my life and on my running. Every blog that I follow continues to serve me with great motivation.

2010 is going to be a great year. One foot in front of the other; one step at a time!

18 comments:

The Sean said...

I look forward to hearing about the upcoming duel!!!

RockStarTri said...

Looking forward to following an exciting year. Planning an Ultra = hardcore snail.

chris mcpeake said...

Ultra = fun
good luck with your training

Jill said...

Wow, you have some great goals for 2010 - I can't wait to read about your journey getting there! Happy New Year!!

San said...

Wow, 10 minutes on your 5m time. Congratulations!!!
You give me hope for my new year to get faster and keep up with running. Thanks for the motivation.

One question, what is PR? Pre-Race? Pro Running? Personal Race? Post Race? Personality Rescue? Seriously, I've read this everywhere, but I can't come up with what it stands for.

Thank you and have a wonderful new year. Keep Running! ;-)

Turbo Photographs said...

Wow!!!! You have some really cool stuff planned for 2010. Sweetwater ain't no joke! If you want to read a good race report from that race, be sure to check out SeeDadRun RunDadRun's blog. He has photos, too. GOOD LUCK!!

Ryan said...

If you do Wrightsville Beach I'll ride by on my bike at mile 21 and slap you in the ass and keep annoying you until you run faster; I'll probably do the half but I've got to check with the coach first.

The Boring Runner said...

10 min off of your 5 mile time is nuts!!!! Nice work on the nonrecap post. If only I has that much restraint

Anonymous said...

I might do a 50K this year, too! It'll be nice to know I'm not the only one chafed, bitter and exhausted. Can't wait to read all about your training.

ChickenUnderwear said...

Good luck in getting into the NYC Marathon. It is an amazing experience. Keep in mind that if you don't make the lottery 3 consecutive years they automatically give you the 4th.

Carolina John said...

Good luck dude. 2010 is going to rock! Come to raleigh for the tobacco road!!

you also now have to talk kelley into letting me do sweetwater. holy shit that looks fun.

Unknown said...

Great non-recap! It's going to be a great year for you based on the looks of things.

B.o.B. said...

I like the non recap recap. You have had a pretty solid year and 2010 will only get better.

San said...

Ah, you are so sweet, thanks for your comments on my blog.

Hone said...

It is an easy cycle. The more you run.....the more weight you will lose....and the faster you will become.

The Equinox marathon is a great race. I love the community up there.

Walt said...

Very nice improvement on the 5 miler. I bet you do break the 2 hour mark on your half.

Lily on the Road said...

WOW, all great and I love the non recap!!! Every year brings you something new ~ looking forward to reading about your 2010!!!

Anne said...

May you stay healthy and hit that running nirvana throughout the year, Thomas. Those all look like fun races.