2009 in Review By The Numbers

First of all, Happy New Year! This year was quite the year now that I can look back at the numbers and results. My original intent for 2009 was to take the year "off" from tris and focus on running. The raw numbers tell a bit of a different story:

• Swimming - 72,600 yards
• Cycling - 1,520 miles
• Running - 942 miles
  

My plan was to sign up to run the National Marathon for the 2nd time in a row and just do a bunch of local running races, while I leisurely trained how I wanted to throughout the rest of the season by mixing up my running with some cycling and swimming. However, because I had a credit for the canceled Patriot's Half from 2008, I signed up for that race again in 2009, rather than lose the credit. This obviously, pushed that "off" year out the window and thus, the numbers above.

In return for having both a marathon and a half iron distance tri, I only planned for 2 races total - National Marathon and Patriot's Half. No practice tris, no half marathons as race prep...nothing but a bare bones approach of training with a plan for each and the actual race itself. What ended up happening though, was also different story, much like my planned training for the year. Opportunities popped up throughout the year which allowed me to participate in races and rides. Below are the races I completed and the results:

• National Marathon - 3:49:14 (PR by 8 minutes)
• Ukrop's Monument Ave 10k - 42:48 (PR by 58 seconds)
• Patriot's Cup Challenge 8k - 33:19 (PR by default - no prior time)
• Air Force Classic 100k Bike Race - 2:59:57 (fastest avg speed 20.7 mph)
• Eat a Peach Ride 67 Miles - 3:51:17 (nearly 5000ft elevation gain)
• Reston Century Ride 101 Miles - 5:43:57 (1st century ride, nearly 6000ft elevation gain)
• Patriot's Half Iron Tri - 5:34:52 (PR by 32:54)
• Home Run 10k - 42:40 (PR by 8 seconds and course PR by 1:06)
• Jingle All The Way 10k - 42:05 (PR by 35 seconds)

Suffice to say, this was a successful year of racing, with a PR in every single race I participated in...just not the "off" year that was planned. Funny how those things happen.

My plans for 2010 are the same as they originally were in 2009 - take the year "off" of tris and focus on running and just overall fitness. I am not signing up for a spring marathon this time though and I have no race credits to apply toward anything. The only goal I have is to increase my running mileage over the 1000 miles mark. Were it not for the injured month of January, I easily would have passed 1000 miles running on the year. So, we shall see what is in store for 2010. Stay tuned...