2010 Year in Review

There's no doubt that 2010 was my best running year having set a personal best in almost every race distance I ran, even though it wasn't many.  I only ran a total of 9 races (including tonight's New Year's Eve 10K) and recorded a personal best in 4 race distances (5K, 10K, half-marathon, & marathon).  I did not run a 5K race this year, but the time was a PB for the distance as part of a 10K race (2nd 5K split).  I know my 5K PB is a bit modest and I'm sure it would have been much faster had I entered and ran the actual race distance. 

The Jesolo 10K race in Italy, during my vacation trip to Venice, was a huge breakthrough for me. I cut a whopping 39 seconds off my previous PB.  More importantly, it was a confidence booster for me leading into the Munich Marathon.  Three weeks before Munich, I ran the Hoogland half-marathon expecting to run a PB and go sub-1:13.  Unfortunately, mother nature wasn't nice and treated us to some crazy winds.  On the bright side, my girlfriend and I both won our race, so it was a good day after all.  By the way, my half-marathon PB was from the CPC Loop Den Haag Half-Marathon early in the year as part of my tune-up for Rotterdam. In that half-marathon, which was also windy but not as bad as the Hoogland half, I cut my half-marathon PB by 22 seconds, but still came up short of a sub-1:13.  I will run the race again in 2011 as a tune-up for Rotterdam (yes, again) and hopefully break some new ground in the half. 

Munich Marathon was by far the highlight of the year.  I not only ran a new personal best, but I also finally went sub-2:34, a time I should have acheived at Berlin in '09 and Rotterdam last April.  It's a step in the right direction towards that illustrious sub-2:30.  Besides the PB, something I'm most proud of is finishing in the Top 10 (9th overall).  Yes, I know Munich doesn't attract or have the elite runners as big-name marathons like Berlin, Boston, London, etc. does, but hey, it's still a top 10 finish and it's not like Munich is not a well-known city.  Where did Frank Shorter win the 1972 Olympic Marathon?  :-)

Here are some numbers for the 2010 running year:

• Ran a total of 9 races, 5 different race distances and 4 PBs. Interestingly, I ran 2 races each at the following distances: 10K, 15K, half-marathon, and marathon. 
• Ran a total of 3700 miles, that's an average of 71 miles/week or 10 miles/day. 
• Logged 9 weeks at 100 or more miles. Highest weekly mileage was 122 miles, which is also a career high.  Lowest weekly mileage was 4 miles.  
• Ran a race in 3 different countries - Netherlands, Germany and Italy.\
• Went through 8 running shoes: 4 x Saucony Grid Tangents, 2 x Asics 2140, one NB 904 and one NB 740. 

Happy New Running Year!!!

Update!!!  I just finished my last run and race of 2010.  Ran the New Year's Eve race (Sylvesterloop 10K) and PR'd by 17 seconds running 32:58 for 5th place.  What a great way to end the year!