I pity my running homies who don’t keep training logs because they don’t get to slice and dice the numbers. Hard to believe they’re content to maintain their physical and mental health with no clue about how this year compares to any other. I suppose they’re still good peeps. And my handy dandy GPS and I are happy to pick up the slack. Truth be told, they like my post run reports where I reveal how far we ran and sometimes even provide mile splits.

On the fitness front, 2008 was an excellent year, most notably because I was injury free and had a lot of fun. I’ve struggled with a balky lower back in the past so I don’t know if I’ve ever had as injury free a 12 month run. I even managed some decent workouts during last week’s bronchitis battle which was probably as sick as I got all year. I attribute my health to three things. First, living in icy Norway in February meant an unusually light second month with several off days. In hindsight, that forced rest was probably needed. Second, I didn’t make time to lift weights this year. I have decent weight lifting form, and lord knows I keep things very light and easy, but I still often accumulate aches and pains as a result of lifting. Third, I’ve done more push ups than normal which have strengthened my core. I need to get more consistent with push ups and planking in 09.

SWIMMING—241,600 meters.

A solid year highlighted by the recent PR in the 500 free. I’ve enjoyed doing more stroke work than ever before. It’s neat to see a little bit of improvement in the fly, breast, and back. The Black Hills triathlon swim was another highlight, but for the sake of kharma, I need to make a correction related to that race report. If you remember it, I talked about setting records for each split. I had an excellent swim, but upon further review, the swim and run were short. 

CYCLING—2,318 miles.

I was most surprised by how well I rode in the summer/fall without any real spring build. How to explain that? I guess I’d credit the bit of base I’ve built over the past four summers. Turns out there was some money in the account when I went to make withdrawals. It was fun mixing it up in the front of the club and riding nearly as well as friends who had more miles in their legs. My cycling season is in two parts, pre-RAMROD and post-RAMROD. I ride much better in August and September because of the spike in fitness I get from drilling myself on Mount Rainier in late-July. It serves as a booster shot. This year my 100 mile solo tune-up before Ramrod was THE single most important outing of the year. Thanks to that effort, RAMROD wasn’t a complete sufferfest. After RAMROD I enjoyed hanging on club rides without completely shelling myself and pushing the pace on occasion. 

RUNNING—1,489 miles.

I was privileged to run in new locales abroad including Norway, Berlin, Munich, through a Tuscany vineyard, and even a hotel dreadmill in Tallin, Estonia. I also enjoyed training with PC, The Malamute, and Double S. I did my best to elevate our Saturday morning conversations, but can’t say I was too successful. The Portland Marathon and Seattle Half both went well and were fun in a “that was painful, glad it’s over” kind of way. I most enjoy trail running and one silver lining of the recession is all of the development that was planned in our area is on hold; as a result, our trails are still intact. One difference this year was the utter lack of speed/track work. Just didn’t make it a priority. 

2009

After years of slight increases in volume, I don’t plan on committing any more time to physical activity in 2009. Now the question is what’s the best swimming/cycling/running balance? This year I anticipate swimming a similar distance, but borrowing some from running in order to add to cycling. Beyond that my frame of mind will be similar—remember life is fragile and appreciate and celebrate good health.

Postscript

Three favorite memories from the year. The first was a spontaneous March day of cross country skiing with Tore in Norway. Tore was patient and encouraging and the conditions and scenery were off the charts. Epic in the truest sense of the word. The second was a very tough, very steep May run/hike up a fog-covered side of the Swiss Alps in Grindenwald, Switzerland. I was serenaded by cow bells in absolutely beautiful scenery. Third, the final bike ride on a few different Mount Rainier passes on an unusually nice October day. After a maximum effort to bridge up to a strong group of climbers, I pushed the pace on one of the final segments just short of the top. Once we got to the top, and were able to talk, an amateur racing friend turned to T and me and said, “You guys should be racing. Why aren’t you racing?” I thought to myself, it doesn’t get better than this. Five friends taking turns inflicting pain on one another surrounded by unrivaled beauty. My answer is, as long as I have my health, good friends to push me, and relatively safe natural settings to train in, I’m good.

T’s persistence has paid off in that this year I will post a much shorter fitness update or random thought every other Friday. Look for the first “Friday’s Fitness Footnote” next Friday. Yes, I like alliteration.