Out with the old, in with the new

Well 2008 as far as running goes was awful and not even worth reviewing. The rest of my life was much better thank you, but running took a turn for the worst. I started 2008 with grand plans to finally break 19 minutes in the 5k and was training my butt off. Well I should have listened to my body but I didn't and kept trying to push forward thinking all the fatigue was normal. Anyway, months later after a few awful races in which I didn't think I would even finish, I finally realized something must be wrong because I was struggling through 'easy' runs at 9:30 pace when 8:30's used to be an easy run. It was difficult to get out the door to run when I knew that after a mile or two my legs would turn to stone and I'd want to crawl home. This was the complete opposite of the way running used to be. I used to get out the door and need 3 or 4 miles to warm up before I got in the groove and then keep pushing the pace faster until the end. Anyway, a quick little blood test revealed that my ferritin was low, so a month after starting iron supplements I was beginning to feel like my old self.

I still did not really get back in the training groove for the rest of 2008 as I was preoccupied with the move and the new job. But now that things have settled down and I have a marathon to train for, I am feeling more motivated than ever. Week 1 of the marathon training plan is almost in the books and if this is any indication of things to come then there may be a marathon PR in my future :).

Marathon History:
October 2004 - Dublin Marathon - 3:48:37
October 2005 - Columbus Marathon - 3:20:51
May 2006 - Mississauga Marathon - 3:17:24
May 2009 - Avenue of the Giants Marathon - ??? We'll see!

Planned Races for 2009:
January 11th - Arts and Sciences 5k
March 29th - Presidio 10 mile race or Golden Gate 10 miler April 3rd
May 3rd - Avenue of the Giants
May 17th - Bay to Breakers
June 27th - Double Dipsea 13.7 (if I get in)
October 18th - Nike Women's Marathon

The key races for 2009 are the two marathons. I'll add more races prior to the Nike marathon once I secure my entry and start planning for it. I also may do the half marathon on February 1st, but I haven't decided yet, I'll decide by Friday. Other than that, there will probably be a few 5k's and 10k's thrown in when the training plan calls for it.

Looking forward to a great 2009!