Year of the Snake

It is the year of the snake and I've just been reminded how old I am.  February has come and gone, as has Chinese New Year (ok, ok, *Lunar* New Year to be less chino-centric).  Being that I was born in the year of the snake, this concludes my third calendar cycle of life.  Yep, I'll be thirty six this year.

My dad made these amazinng dumplings. This pic has nothing to do with running.  But I had to share.

I don't really worry about age (yet).  But more than *western* new year, the coming of my fourth year of the snake has made me reflect.  I don't do resolutions, but I do like goals and lists.  Someone recently told me that I was a goal oriented person.  I never thought of myself as such, but I think she's right.  Maybe many of you can relate to this, but if I don't sign up for a race that kind of scares me, I don't stick to my training.  I skip runs, don't bother with hills or speed, and eat a lot more french fries that the average human should.

Other than having these goal events, you all help keep me accountable. And by *you*, I mean you my friends who read this little blog, who I hang out with regularly, and who I run with.  You support me and hopefully you feel I support you.  I can declare my intentions and goals to you and you help me stick to them.  So thanks.

One of a handful of snow runs this season.  I tire of my running tights. Let spring commence!

If you've been reading along, you'll know the big goal for me this year (or longer if it takes) is to go sub three hours in a marathon. Complementing this, I have a goal to run 1,200 miles in the year (both lunar and western calendar).  I am still a long ways away.  Just this week was my first 30+ mile week (excluding race/coaching in Bermuda) since mid-July 2012.  I was surprised when I looked this stat up, but it helps explain why it's been so damn hard to make the climb back up and develop the base I need to achieve this ambitious goal. 

To put things further in perspective, I only had 3 weeks of 30+ mileage since running the 2010 NYC Marathon.  Only three.  Including Ironman training.  Wow.  But in the glorious season leading up to that race, between the end of May and end of October, I had 14 weeks of 30+ mileage, including a few 40+ and a couple 50+ weeks.

This doesn't come easy to me. Speed.  I say this to people and I don't know if I am believed.  I have to work for it.  My running log doesn't lie.  When I compare myself to the 2010 version of Joel, I'm definitely slower.  But I'm hoping that I'm also smarter and that me patiently building a healthy base will get me where I want to be.  Time (and race times) will tell.

I took the team to the Palisades Park in NJ and made them scale these stairs.  Twice.