2006 in review

First things first: Thursday I went back to the so-called track and was planning on going 4 miles. Around 3 and a quarter, I didn't feel quite right. My knee/IT band wasn't hurting but my mind was thinking that it was gonna hurt any second, so I stopped and stretched it out just in case. Just like chicken soup for the common cold, it was a great remedy and I ran the last 3/4 of a mile without any problems. It's great when stuff like that happens, eh? Friday I wanted to see how things held up by running on consecutive days, so I did an easy 3 at the same place. Sure enough, things were great.

But great was short-lived. I don't have the luxury of having a foam roller out here, so I've had to improvise. The sports med doc I went to see about a month and a half ago recommended filling a two-liter bottle with water, sticking it in the freezer, and then using that as a roller once it has completely frozen over. Well, I did that and my IT band definitely didn't respond well to it. The bottle was just hard as a rock and didn't have any give like a foam roller does.

Saturday there was just a dull pain, but I knew that was from the two-liter bottle. I went snorkeling and swimming and things seemed to feel fine. This morning, I was planning on just walking around (since that never hurts now) and maybe jogging a mile if things felt alright. Well, that turned into 4 miles. I jogged 2.5, walked around for about 20 minutes, and then jogged another 1.5 before I felt a slight burn in my knee, so I called it a day. Grand total for the year - 869 miles.

Enough of that... here's my analysis on 2006, the year that was:

It ROCKED because: I bought new racing flats and - in my first race after that - shattered my 5K PR by a whopping 22 seconds. I also ran two other 5K's faster than the PR I had before said flats. I set a 10-mile PR by over 2 minutes, albeit in my second ever 10-mile race. I got the courage to sign up for, train for, and run a full marathon. And, saving the best for last, qualified for Boston!

It SUCKED because: Injuries, injuries, injuries. Two in particular, which I've spent much time blogging about: my calf tendonitis in mid-summer and the IT band syndrome of recent times. It all adds up to two months of running straight down the proverbial drain.

I ran 869 miles this year, and had recently been somewhat disappointed because somewhere down the line I had decided that my goal was 1000. As I was looking back at my log, I read a goal I made on January 1, 2006: Run 750 miles this year. Well, I certainly accomplished that feat and I'm really not sure where the push for 1000 came from. I also had made two other goals - stretch every day (I think I missed only 6 days) and do 100 pushups AND situps each day. The second goal kind of fizzled out after January, but I still do my fair share of situps and pushups.

As for 2007, my main goal is to run 1000 miles. I know it's not that hard (and all my non-running buddies are probably thinking "that's a load of shit!") because it's only 19 miles a week. The bulk of that mainly relies on one thing, otherwise known as my second goal: stay injury free! Maybe I'll come up with a couple more goals in the next week, but nonetheless, the new year brings a clean slate and a boatload of optimism.

Anyway, happy new year to everyone. I can't block quote this because I'm using Safari out here, and Safari doesn't fly that way, so I'll just plainly type my last quote of 2006....

"It's been a long December and there's reason to believe that maybe this year will be better than the last." --The Counting Crows