To Blog or Not To Blog?

Okay, I'm going to guess that approximately 2 people will ever read this blog...and that likely includes me.  My wife, who is probably the other one reading this, has been blogging about our son for a few years and it's pretty amazing.  I typically see firsthand all the little 'tidbits' she writes about weekly, yet there is something appealing about seeing the week summarized on the internet.

So we come to me...I've thought on and off about starting a blog.  Mostly wondering if it would just be a waste of my time to sit down and write something that will rarely be seen.  Who knows, this may be my last post...or it could be the first of many.  Either way, I'm going to give it a go and see what happens.  I'm not completely sure what it is that I will write about.  My wife pretty much has the family and son activities covered, so it doesn't make sense to regurgitate her efforts.  I imagine I will discuss more details about me personally and what happens in my life (hence the name of the blog) from time to time.  I can almost guarantee that this won't be a weekly post, regardless of what happens...but I've been wrong before, just ask my spouse.

For this first venture into blogging, I thought I would discuss the challenges I've proposed for myself for 2010.  Some may call these New Year's Resolutions, but I won't.  The only real resolutions I've had were to drink more quality wine and beer and I always failed...not in quality but in quantity.  This is not to say I was turning to the path of drinking too much, just that I love wine and even more so love beer and wanted to try more varieties and expand my horizons.  Either way, it doesn't matter...I've failed those resolutions and no longer assert to have such lofty goals.

Back to my 2010 challenges.  Many years ago in 1998, Teresa (the wife), ran the Disney World Marathon for Team in Training and I was so impressed by her efforts and what she accomplished, that I decided to do the same.  I ran the 1998 inaugural San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon.  I was much younger and perhaps thought I was invincible, and suffered through the race.  My training had very little structure and to make a long story short...I had serious IT band issues the day of the race. So bad, that I could only run about 10 of the 26 miles.  Somehow, I still completed the marathon waking much like a pirate, as I could not bend my right knee.  This experience left me with an urge to redeem myself...but the pain was too great and burned in my memory.

Several years went by and I ran very little.  I would try, only to be discouraged by knee pain, shin splints, ankle soreness (that's another story).  Not to mention the fact that I was significantly slower than I was in 1998 (I wasn't fast then by the way) and my pride suffered.  In addition, time was always short, between work, wife and son time, it was hard to break away and I often would feel guilty.

Finally in the fall of 2007, I accepted the fact that I would probably not ever be able to run as fast as I could a decade earlier.  Let's face it, I had gained a few pounds and I was much older.  I had a secret weapon though...years of experience and a lack of pride, at least when it came to speed.  That experience allowed me to take it slow both in pace and distance.  I was able to slowly increase distance and amazingly, most of the pain went away after a couple of weeks...only to return if I took too much time off.  Was that right?!?  The pain comes back after taking too much time off?  Didn't matter, that's what worked for me.

I ran fairly consistently through 2008, always working to slowly increase distance but I never really got any faster..and I was okay with that. Well, my mileage had increased to the point where my longer runs were around 13 miles...half marathon distance...and that was relatively pain free!  I could suddenly see marathon redemption coming into view.  After much personal debate, I decided to set my goals on completing another marathon.  In January 2009, I signed up for the Colorado Marathon in Fort Collins.  The amazingly beautiful course runs down the Poudre Canyon and into Olde Town.  I felt so much more comfortable about this marathon since I grew up driving up that canyon and knew it very well.

So, I trained much smarter than I did more than a decade earlier.  I still wasn't fast, but my goal was to finish, not win.  I succeeded, and finished the marathon in just under 5 hours.  Teresa, our son Seth and my mom were there to cheer me on at every opportunity they had.  The highlight of the run; however, was crossing the finish line running, with Seth in my arms.  It was a great way to redeem myself.

This time, I was able to keep running after my marathon and even ran 10 miles the following weekend.  And while I could still run long distances, I wasn't fast.  I began to research my running style and realized I was a heel-striker...not good.  Not only does this slow a runner down, it creates much more stress on the body.  In my research, I came across a pair of shoes that have changed how I run forever.  The shoes are Newtons and they are by far the best shoes I've ever had.  I finally ponied up the cash to get the shoes (they're not cheap) and started running in them in early August.  Since that time, I've shaved over 5 minutes off of my 5 km time all while still feeling like I had more in my legs at the end.  Granted, some of the increase in speed is due to form, but the Newton shoes help maximize the efficiency using that form.

So, now we have the plans for 2010.  I've succeeded in increasing my speed with motivation, form and shoes to help.  I do want to run the Colorado Marathon again (and have signed up already) and hope to shave a huge chunk of time off of last year's run.  I've also decided that I would like to venture into the sport of triathlons.  Why you ask?  Well, it's something I've always wanted to do...even signed up with USA Triathlon many years ago, but never raced.  Now, I just feel like it will be another great challenge for me to take on and pursue.  As with last year's marathon, I don't have any hopes for finishing a sprint distance triathlon in a certain time; I just want to finish.  If after that I'm enjoying the sport, I'll set time goals then.

Either way, I'm looking forward to a challenging 2010 for me and endurance training/racing.  Now, I just need to get in the pool, as this will most certainly be my weak point for the upcoming triathlons.

Thanks for reading.

- Brian