2003 Reflections

Excelent

Post your thoughts, and comments on this past year here.

Thanks

Cappy

Frightened Inmate #2

Pros ::

managed to avoid major injuries in 2003
First/only triathlon
First duathlon
Won a couple of trophies and medals in the 5K distance + 1 plaque for a duathlon.
Met some Riff-Raff!

Cons ::

Missed hitting 2000 miles for the year running.
Missed hitting 7,800 miles for the year on the bike (150 MPW).
Had to quit/chose to temporarily give up swimming.
Missed hitting a sub 19 5K.

Pyromaniac

I can honestly say I have nothing to complain about running wise for 2003. Three pr's and adding nearly 300 miles to my yearly total will do that for me. Mr. Green

Member

....went out like a lamb would be fitting for me

Hipster Doofus

2003 was my first full year of running.

Plusses:

* Running over 100 miles in each month.
* Went from races of 5 K in 2002 up to and including the half marathon in 2003.
* Dropped a lot of weight - 50 pounds or so.
* Injury free.

Minuses:

* Not adjusting to a better, diet appropriate for a runner. (but on the other hand, the food one eats has to taste good)
* Occasionally forgetting that this should be done for fun - to make in things as you run, not just the strictly competitive nature of it. In the spring, MW gave me great advice on this - take two weeks and run with no watch. Run and take in your surroundings. I did, and it was a terrific re-charging of the batteries. Thanks, Maddie!

Best of alls:
* Getting a great coach. Very Happy

* Meeting a load of great people known as the Riff Raffers at various events - All the guys are gentlemen, and on my scale where Deena Drossin is a 10 (Hhhhhhhot), all the women are 10s. But never accuse me of being Mr. Male Sexist Pig-Dog - their brains match their beauty.
* Finding something that I can be, if not great at, then at least good. And doing that on my terms.

Excelent

2003 was a rough year for me, but through it out all perservered. Overall I wish I was able to ride farther and longer, but I am happy with just being able to something albeit only on a limited basis.

Member

2003 in Review
1185.5M running. Not as much as I had wanted, but all I could manage due to a weird year medically. 26 races in three states: 1 4M, 7 5K, 6 5M, 1 10K, 1 7M, 2 15K, 1 10M, 6 halfs, 1 marathon. PRs at every distance – some reset multiple times. Member of all four champion virtual RR teams of 2003. Many aches and pains, some lingering, but no true injuries thank goodness. Met many people along the way, some who disappointed me terribly, but most who will be true lifelong friends. I learned the value of patience, the truthfulness of science, the importance of giving and receiving help and support along the way, and that just when I’m about to give up hope I will turn around and really surprise myself. Good and bad, this year was great. A true learning experience. My breakdown:

January: spent the snow-covered month nursing a weird hip thing from a race two months before. Learned how to run on ice. Only month I didn’t race. 59.0M total.

February: spent the whole snow-covered month sick. Made my NYC racing debut. Three races, including a 5M I ran with the flu and a fever where I threw up once on myself, twice more on a very expensive lawn. 46.3M total.

March: still snow-covered; training suffered. Managed to squeak in 3 races for 65.3M total. On a cold day in Brooklyn I met my man pink love

monk

and the love affair began.

April: mileage-wise my best month with 162.5M total, thanks to quitting my 3 night a week teaching gig. Lots of doubles. Training wise, too much too soon (hindsight 20/20, of course). One race, spent the entire month preparing for Broad Street.

May: two races - my Broad Street miracle race, followed two weeks later by my Queens half PR that still stands despite running the last 3 miles in shock while severely dehydrated (I don't remember these miles at all Shocked

). Fast fast times the first half of the month, followed promptly by the crash & burn. I’m still trying to get back to that speed. 142.1M total. Met RLAG, Cappy, airehead & BC, genie, po-po, and my Pittsburgh drinking crew of Sahara, Pebbles, and BamBam.

June: spent the month recovering from crash & burn and the subsequent disillusionment. 38.6M total. Two races in the same week, five days apart. The first sucked ass, the second run in pouring rain rocked. Had surgery the day after the second, so more recovery time.

July: 4 races: one kept me from permanently quitting running, another made me see I might climb out of the abyss. 88.1M total. Ran in costume with my best friend at the Boilermaker, hands down my favorite race. Met Gogirlgo.

August: one race – the Manhattan March of Death. While not my worst performance, personally my worst race ever because it never came together, and my body refused to work. I cried all the way home from NYC to Philly, and much of that night. This strengthened my resolve, and I kept climbing back to good running by starting marathon training while on vacation at the beach. 125.4M total.

September: 3 races, anniversary of first race ever. 136.2M total. Ran a disappointing half in Philly which still bothers me. Met Maddie’s Wench and RangerG.

October: 4 races, which finished the Seven Races in Seven Weeks series that I'm proud I attempted and glad I thrived in. Ran two in one weekend – a PR 5K where I was only striving to have fun followed by my final NY race, a half that was measured too long but which nonetheless earned me my coveted NYRRC Grand Prix patch and a guaranteed spot in NYCM ’04. Second highest monthly mileage ever due to long runs for marathon training - 152.9M total.

November: taper that I barely lived through followed by my one race – my marathon debut, which I finished feeling great with style and sass to spare. Took a week off to recover. 96.9M total. Met TriBob.

December: began training program for marathon #2. Training spotty due to being sick nearly the whole month. 2 races: one which mauled me, another which offered a much needed ray of hope. Tonight's run will make it 72.2M total. Met Sandy Cheeks, pbello, and coach Floridaboiler.

Adjunct

for the year 1306.529 total miles 2nd best year since 1992
181 hours ran this year for an average pace of 823 a mile

255 days run average per day 5.1 miles
I am very happy with how this year turned out.

POTFH

I had a decent year.

I ran 19 races which is record for me. (+3 from 2002)
I set 7 different distance PR's

Ran 308 more miles than in 2002.

No Major Injuries.

Member

This was not a memorable year for me and will be happy to have it behind me. I started the year with high hopes and running another marathon. Work, however, destroyed my base. With work continuing to be a daily grind through August I had to pull the plug on any marathon plans.

And when I did that I sort of just wilted. Put on a little weight and I don't even want to discuss my log book. But by late November I was chipping away at it again and as I sit here tonight I think '04 could really be a good year for me.

I finally bought a bike--something I had been mulling over and thinking about for over a year. I have spent some time in the pool and putting in some quality runs. I don't want to make any grand pronoucements but you can see where I am headed.

One thing, I know this is a "down year" work wise and I need to rise to the occasion.

Stay tuned.

Member

plus:

started running again after four years
ran my first half marathon, completed in 2 hours
entered my first marathon (big sur)

minus:

haven't run for the past three weeks, cuz my knees hurt Sad

but, overall, i'm quite pleased with my running. it's just seems so right, so natural. know what i mean?

but in 2004, i'll have to pick it up, cuz there's no way i'm gonna NOT finish my marathon.

Member

Overall, a very decent year for me.

Good stuff:
I stayed injury free (major injuries, that is)
Completed several halfs and one full.
Kept my goal of 100 miles per month, except for Feb. when illness set me back and I missed by a few.
Found a great training group and made friends to run and race with.
Raced every month which improved the t-shirt collection.

Bad Stuff:
July and August. Evil or Very Mad

Hot, humid, TEXAS. Had to run early during summer vacation, AND my times were slow...

2003 Reflections

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