Haile Gebrselassie breaks marathon record, finishing in 2:03:59.

One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post, is that my running has benefitted, I think, by an effort to run outdoors as much as possible. I used to not even consider a treadmill an option, but over the years I've gotten more and more dependent on the treadmills at the gym for the bulk of my running. It has the advantage of being lower-impact than running on hard street surfaces, but it's dull, dull, dull. And they always have the TV at the gym on the news, which I'd rather not have to try to ignore. And on cold days, they crank up the heat to an uncomfortable degree (on hot days, at least, it's very pleasantly cool). But I tend to put off my runs until after I've digested my dinner, when it's dark, and I don't have too many options. Or I'll plan a morning run, and sleep in until noon, and not want to run in the mid-day sun. But I've been making an effort to run the majority of my runs outdoors, since just spending time outdoors provides incentive to run, and increases the immediate benefits of the run as far as mood enhancement. Most of my runs have been after work, on my way home, stopping off at Mission Bay. Even on hot days, there's a nice sea breeze keeping things cool (the recent humidity hasn't spared the bay, though, I'm afraid). The path through the park there is concrete, which isn't a very good running surface, but there's lots of grass, so I spend the majority of my time off the path. And while I don't consider the section of Mission Bay I typically run particularly beautiful, just being in proximity with such a large body of water is soothing. Not as soothing as the view from work in La Jolla, but nice. (I plan to run in La Jolla today after work, and will include the Scripps Coastal Reserve, since there are few better views in the city)

Closer to home, I enjoy trail running in Mission Trails Regional Park, but there's no shade to be had there, and it's been a bit to warm to run there recently (and I'd like to build up some more leg strength before tackling some of the hills there). So I've been settling for Lake Murray, which is technically part of Mission Trails, but certainly doesn't have the same vibe as as the rest of the park. More like a wide asphalt road available for running, with some sort of puddle next to it. I tend not to really take in the sights of the lake while I run, though I enjoy looking at the hawks overhead and squirrels scurrying across my path. In my mind it's mainly just a practical outdoor running path when nothing better is available. I did run there around dusk a few weeks back, though, and as my run came to an end back at the parking lot, the sun was beginning to set and a lone duck was swimming across the lake's surface, and I realized that, considering it's less than five minutes from my house, I'm lucky to have such a pretty place so readily available. Uncharacteristically, I took my iPhone instead of my iPod with me, so I had a camera phone with which to snap a few shots. Not what I'd call profoundly beautiful, just the sort of everyday loveliness it's easy to take for granted, and just one more reason I'm glad I'm out there running.

Today is the last day of the month, and as good a time as any to reflect on my recent running experiences. I usually wait until January, to declare the year a failure and set some goal for the new year, that I will declare a failure twelve months out. But instead, this time, I think I will say now that most of this year was a failure, fitness-wise, but that last month was pretty good. A few more successful months, and I might even get the pleasure of taking back my declaration of failure.

In August, I ran 33.9 miles. Considering my milage for the year is around 92 miles (I was remiss in keeping my log current in January/February, but doubt I ran more than 15 miles or so the two months combined), that's well over a third of my annual running-to-date condensed into one month. A bit over a mile a day, which isn't bad for someone trying to get back into the swing of things. I still have a ways to go to get where I want to be, but I'm at the point now where I can start building up mileage. But just getting that base in place is the most important thing. Getting into the habit of running four days a week, regardless of how far. Not that I don't want to gain speed and endurance and increase my mileage, but the greatest gains come from doing nothing to doing something, so while 8/9 miles a week isn't all that impressive compared to my training at my peak, that's still a major improvement to my lifestyle. I intend to improve from where I am now, but further benefits will be incremental. The important thing is to keep up the consistency, make running a habit again. And I seem to be on track there.

So while things are going good, I should ask myself, why do things always go wrong? I tend to say injuries, but there was really only the one bout with plantar fasciitis, and otherwise I've been injury-free (nothing that didn't go away after taking it easy a day or two, anyway). The plantar fasciitis still stands out, since I was pretty much at the top of my game at that point, and never really got back to the point where running was a habit after that hiatus. But looking over my notes, I see the factor that's consistently to blame for my bad years is illness. I get the flu in September or October, and never quite shake it completely until January or so. So this year, I'm doing what I should have been doing for years, and getting a flu shot. I work in customer service at a family-friendly tourist attraction and volunteer in a library, so I'm exposed to lots of people, including lots of snotty kids, so it's no surprise I get sick a lot. And endurance exercise has a tendency to lower one's immune system a bit. So while I've always been slightly skeptical of flu shots, next month I'll be lining up to get my injection. And hopefully that will help assure that I'm able to line up at the starting line of the next 5K I decide to enter.

A very happy new year to you all. This is of course the time of resolutions, so I decided I should use this space to share my resolutions for the year, and review last year's. I notice the archive feature of this blog is missing for some reason, but the ugly tool bar now on the top of the page offers convenient search functionality (I'm hoping it looks better when I see it on another computer, and that the issues I have are just with Safari--and on the plus side, the new Blogger seems to have activated comments on the blog). So I was able to review last year's resolutions, and much like I had to announce the failure of 2005's resolutions in that post, here I announce the failure of 2006's resolutions. To start with the last resolution, graduating college, I'll just say the less said, the better. But my primary resolution was fitness-based, to build up to a training regimin of 20 miles a week. I thought this was more focused that the previous year's resolution, but apparently it wasn't focused enough. I never really got beyond running maybe 25 minutes a day, and in fact was mostly stuck at the 20 minute level. Breaking seven miles a week was a major achievement, and missing an entire week or two (or three) was not uncommon. And I managed to gain about four pounds. To be fair, most of my slacking off was late in the year, when various illnesses gave me some excuse. And at least I remained committed to the concept of exercise throughout the year, and tried to at least do something, rather than nothing. But the fact remains, by the end of Feburary, my goal was falling apart. I think the problem was that my goal was focused solely on my state at the end of the year, with no accountability along the way. Which I have tried to address in this year's resolutions, while still leaving myself some flexibility.

So for 2007, I have set a target of running the Silver Strand Half-Marathon in November. To advance this goal, I will be running a series of races throughout the year to keep myself on track, both 5Ks and 10Ks, starting with a 5K the first week of February. I think this goal gives me reasonable flexibility while still providing structure: I can set my own training pace, and adjust it as needed, but if I'm falling short, it will be (literally) painfully clear on race day, and I can respond accordingly. Failure won't wait for the end of the year to announce it's presence, and thus I'll have time to reverse the situation. I also intend to work out in the gym twice a week, and do more runs outdoors rather than on treadmills (my tendency lately to run mostly at the gym has probably contributed to some degree of boredom with running). And while I don't have any resolutions directly regarding dieting, I have resolved to keep a food log, and keep more healthy foods stocked in the house. I'm not denying myself food, but if I have good choices available, and stay aware of what I am eating, I tend to make better decisions.

I did weigh myself this morning (I bought a scale recently with a body fat monitor--giving me an opportunity to weigh myself in the nude, which the fascists at my gym don't allow on the scale in the cardio area) and I've lost 2.2 pounds this week, which is a good start. And despite it being a bit chilly (by So. Cal. standards), I've found running outside to be vastly more enjoyable than treadmills (I plan to limit my treadmill runs to days I do weight training, and really inclimate weather). So I have confidence this is the year I buck the recent trend and get back to the halcyon days of my running life, where I made resolutions and kept them.