Motivation

I've been having a hard time to get motivated to run. I'm not sure if it is the cold weather or if I'm just a little burned out. My last really good runs were December 19/20 (11 mile road run; 8 mile trail run). I calculated all my running miles for the year though and discovered I only had another 10.73 to run and I would hit 1100 miles for the year! Thus I managed to lace up my shoes and head out into the 33 degree weather today for 7.15 miles. After the first mile I was hot and had to shed my long sleeve shirt. Felt pretty good. I was trying to cover 7 miles in under an hour but I didn't quite make it. Hit 7 miles at the 1:00:10, and finished the 7.15 in 1:01:27. Had two good hills in there and finished on a gradual incline back to my office for the last .44. Overall, not too bad. Only 3.58 left to go for the year!

More recapping

I've been calculating the number of miles run and hiked in 2009 over the last couple of days. Here are my 2009 stats up to today:

1089.27 miles run
249.8 miles hiked
105800 ft of elevation gained
999 lbs carried

So, as far as I can see it, by the end of the year I need to run 10.73 miles, hike .2 miles, gain 200 ft of elevation and carry 1 lb. That will make all the numbers nice and even, and I am a big fan of even numbers.

Year in Recap

The end of a year always seems to be a time for reflection. What have I accomplished this year, what do I hope to do next year, etc... This year was a pretty good one. I managed to tick a lot of things of my to do list. Of course, with meeting certain goals only comes the creation of more goals.

This year in recap:

Races
Shamrock Run (March), 15K 1:24:55
Race for the Roses (April), Half-marathon 1:53:11
Hippie Chick (May), Half-marathon 2:01:50
San Francisco Marathon, Marathon 4:55:10
Race for the Cure (September), 5K 26:01
Portland Marathon (October), Marathon 4:25:08 (PR by 4:48)
Seattle Marathon (November), Marathon 4:18:01 (PR by 7:07)

Race for the Roses was a great day - perfect sun and my body felt awesome. The Hippie Chick, only one month later, was a different story. Battled with calf cramps once again that crippled me in the last 3 miles. Had about 8 stretching stops which significantly slowed my time. Had solid training throughout the summer and was looking forward to the San Francisco Marathon. Unfortunately the cramps struck again around mile 13 and made for a very difficult finish. But got back on track for Portland. Cramps didn't start until mile 17, and they weren't as debilitating as in the past. Capped the year with Seattle which was awesome. Perfect temperature and a solid day with absolutely no cramps!

Climbing
Rooster Rock (May)
Mt Adams, Suksdorf Ridge (May)
Mt Hood, Pearly Gates (June)
Middle Sister, North Ridge (June)
Mt Rainier, Kautz Glacier (July)
Broken Top, North Ridge (August)
Old Snowy (August)
South Sister (August)
Washington/Elinor Traverse (September)

A few standouts on the list. It was the first time I had the opportunity to climb Rooster Rock and two BCEP students from my class the previous year led it! There's nothing like watching your students meet and then exceed your own climbing ability. It was pretty cool (albeit a bit humbling). Mt. Rainier was incredible. It was a big test of my ability and I am proud to say it went really well. Had the opportunity to climb Old Snowy & South Sister with my sister and her family. It's truly fun to get kids out for the first climbing experiences and to watch them succeed. The Washington/Elinor Traverse was a fun end to the year (minus the flat tire waiting for us at the trailhead).

So, what to accomplish next year?