2010 Year in Review

You hear everyone say it at this time, "Can't believe the year is over already!" A lot of things have changed in 2010 and although it looks like most of the change came from my weight loss -it actually changed the most in my mind. The weight loss and fitness just followed suite. Most people don't believe that I used to weigh 180 pounds and that I lost 40 pounds of that over the past year. I think this pic accentuates the man boobs and gut I used to have:



I made commitment in November of 2009 to start running again. I was sick of my weight and I just wanted to get in good enough shape to get the weight off and do a 5k here and there. I ran the Carlsbad marathon in January of 2010 after only 3 months of training (not smart). I stuck with the 3:30 pace group up until mile 18, then my right leg fell apart and ended up walking/jogging/limping the rest of the way in to a 4:14.

A month later my son Taylor was born:

Not satisfied with my marathon result, I kept doing some non-structured training and managed to lose about 10 pounds. I bought The Mistress for some mountain bike fun and for a little Cross Training. In March I teamed up with a friend and did The Muddy Buddy. We managed a flat within the first 2 miles, but still ended up placing 2nd overall:

Leaving the mud pit



The Mustache has definitely made a comeback


In April I did two races. The Vista Distance Carnival 2-miler on the track and the Carlsbad 5000: 





Another nice gut shot



Finished in 10:57 (struggling!)

Carlsbad 5000:


Not loving this hurt: 17:57



Post race. Sweet 2nd chin!

Then a few weeks later some friends and I organized a team to run the Ragnar Relay. It's a 12 person relay where you have 2 vans and each runner has 3 different legs over a 24 hour period. So we basically all ran close to 20 miles in 24 hours with no sleep. This race was not only one of my top 5 running experiences (so fun!) but it also turned a switch in my mind that transformed me from wanting to lose weight, to wanting to be competitive again. It wasn't necessarily because it was a competitive race, but it was the fact that I ran strong for close to 20 miles with little training. Here's a little video that we put together from the race:



Oh, and you better believe that Hairforce will be back in 2011! I'm excited! After Ragnar, I started hitting up track workouts every Tuesday with the SDTC which quickly helped me lose the necessary weight and get my fitness back up to par. In May I entered my first Xterra Trail Race at Mission Gorge and I got a taste of what they were about...Tough! I placed in the top 10 in my AG, but knew I had a lot of work to do. In June I ran a local hilly 5k and although I improved little over my (over 30) PR, I felt strong and it motivated me even more to better myself:

On my way to a 17:52

Then in July I raced the Scripps Ranch 4th of July 10k and had another (over 30) PR of 35:50 which placed me 5th in my AG. Even though my running was progressing, I kept getting little injuries here and there that kept setting me back. Whenever I tried to up my mileage over 40/wk I seemed to get injured. I was having so much fun riding my mountain bike when I was hurt, I started looking into the possibility of doing some off road triathlons. After doing the Xterra Trail race earlier in the year, I was familiar with the fact that they have a whole series of races each year. After reading blog after blog from different triathletes and enjoying the different training, I became even more motivated and in July I decided to dedicate my training exclusively to the triathlon. My Homeowners Assn already had a junior Olympic size pool, so I started learning to swim again and even got a little help from Xterra pro Trevor Glavin. I bought a little road bike to get some bike strength and in September I raced my first sprint triathlon, the TRI Rock:


Rockin the Forge, trying to keep up with the TT guys



Ran the 2nd fastest run split of the day (17:40) and placed 1st in my AG in my first TRI!

Wow, so the triathlon training and racing was way too fun. After the race I finally started to get serious again about my training. It had been about 8 years since I took training seriously, but I really felt a strong desire to be good again. Most of all, I was (am) having fun doing it!

Since Triathlon season was over, the rest of fall I just focused on training, racing some Dirt Dog Races and preparing for my first season as a triathlete. My weight is down to about 140 pounds which is right where I want to be:



Over 30 8k PR 27:55

Other year highlights are getting my 5k down to 16:45, completing a 70 mile ride, winning my first Mountain Bike race, racing in my first Cyclocross race and actually learning how to swim half-decent. As 2011 approaches, I have built great base fitness in all three disciplines and in two weeks I will be racing my first half marathon at R&R Arizona.

BRING ON 2011!

Happy New Years everyone--