Reflections on 2008

It goes without saying that 2008 was a landmark year for my running & fitness. That's because this was the year I started running seriously. After college, before our first house I remember working out sometimes at my employer's small gym. That was almost 20 years ago, and it didn't stick more than a month or two. Same deal when I joined a gym in Livermore, probably before the kids were born (I almost forgot about that). I did try running a little bit back in those days, too. That didn't stick, either, but I can remember some runs of decent length along the streets or creek trail of Livermore, or along the causeways in the south bay above Sunnyvale. Three years ago, an imminent 40th birthday motivated me to start running some mornings, and Sam even ran with me. It was more like run/walking, but it led up to the Santa Clarita 5K in November 2006.

That was all beneficial, and when my 2006 runs were combined with some better eating I even lost some weight and was on a better path for fitness. But I didn't stick with it. This year, 2008, has been different. I'm pretty sure I've already run for a longer period of time than ever before. I've certainly run substantially more distance. The single 5K I ran in all the years prior to this one was topped by three 5K's, a 10K, and a half-marathon, all within not much more than half of 2008. My eating could still show some improvement, but I can still claim a better diet than I've had in many years, possibly my entire adult life.

That's why 2008 is a watershed year for me. The running has even helped me in other ways, showing me the power of steady, methodical dedication to improvement, serving as a metaphor for other aspects of my life. I'm finally setting a good example for my family and that makes a dad feel very good!

Here now are many notable moments from my past year:

• The act of committing to run the half-marathon as I wrote in my journal on my 42nd birthday
• My great fortune to just searching the Internet for "half marathon training," not knowing I'd find anything at all, then coming up with lots of resources & landing on Hal Higdon's program
• Using my running goals as an opportunity to connect with my sister-in-law, an avid runner
• Being too nervous & self-conscious to go to a running store, I instead got my running shoes, socks, and "runderwear" from Kohl's and Sports Chalet
• Listening to an audiobook about the Panama Canal and the podcasts Garrett's Games & Geekiness, Filmspotting, and 4 Feet Running on many runs.
• Using MapMyRun.com to plan & measure my routes.
• Looking forward to running in new places when traveling. I ran through historic Huntsville, San Francisco (first the Embarcadero and later across the GG Bridge), and in The Dalles. (In Denver and Long Island I had to settle for the hotel treadmill.) Right now I'm looking forward to running in Hawaii next week.
• Downloading new running music mixes for each race. I went with Stevie Wonder for the first 5K, followed by Guns n Roses, Van Halen, and finally Saturday Night Fever for the half-marathon.
  
• The back spasm that completely derailed my first 5 mile training run, then the exhilaration of making the very next run a few days later without mishap.
• The confidence and joy of making it through my last training run before the half-marathon in good form. The previous long run a week earlier had been a struggle, but this time I did a better job hydrating the night before and had some energy gels & more water with me.
• Learning to take a good mid-run photo by spotting the photographer and smiling. :-)

Of course, the top moment of the year was achieving my goal of finishing that half-marathon. The last mile was perhaps more fun than crossing the finish line, as I had time to savor it, knowing I was going to be successful.