2008

It was definitely a different year for me. My running tended to take the back burner and being a dad was what it was about. Finding balance was the key, and at times I fell short. My mileage for the year is probably at the lowest since I took up running a mere 8 years ago, but I still feel pretty good about what I accomplished - and I had fun along the way. My running began a little differently this year - I had to start a bit from scratch as I was focusing on being a dad (I was very new to this still). I couldn't get a running routine started in the mornings as I was on bottle duty, so it was lunch time runs on a treadmill. This seemed to work out pretty good, though it left me very tired by the end of the week, and it was easy to sacrifice a workout because of work. In February I ended up with a back injury that kept me out for a couple of weeks, but then it was back to a routine. I ran the first two DINO trail races of the year, the first being very cold and snowy, the second just brutal with the stairs and hills that I just was not prepared for. April was the final month of training for Dances With Dirt. I got some good trial runs in, but nothing that truly prepared me for what I was to face. In May, it was game on. Dances with Dirt was crazy - it was quite the experience and challenge. Needless to say, I finished with a respectable effort and did not get injured. The following weekend I ran the inaugural Geist Half Marathon. A great race and definitely one I'll be doing again. June didn't have much running going on, but then in July training started for a half marathon in the fall - there was no way I could find time to train for a full marathon this year... In July Lilli and I went for our first run together. Just a quick 3 mile run through the neighborhood, but she enjoyed it a lot. We found time for a few more runs together throughout the summer - when her scheduled allowed. Makes me look forward to this coming summer now... September found me another year older, but having some good runs - especially as I was nearing my fall half marathon. I was hoping to set a PR this year in it, but the course and my training didn't allow it. I kept running a few days a week as I could get them in since the half marathon. I even ran a couple of trail runs, but still no PR's for me. I guess you could say this was a rebuilding year. I am now taking stock in my running and deciding what races I will run and what goals I want to have. Will there be a marathon this year? I hope so, but who knows. I do know that I would really like to focus on running all the trail runs this year in the DINO series. How about Dances with Dirt again? Hmmm... maybe. I even thought about a possibility in doing the Pikes Peak Ascent. But it's all just random thoughts. That's all I have for now. See you next year...