Kicking off 2009 right

Training for the 2009 racing season has officially begun!

I kicked off the my training for Little Rock/Great Bay/Wilmington this morning with a three mile tempo run. It's been almost three weeks since my last run, so this morning's run was surprisingly difficult--which is always how training starts, right? You look down the barrel (i.e., your training schedule) and think "What the hell am I doing? There is now way I can do this again." And then little by little you relearn how to run and how to turn over your legs and how to breathe properly. Then, after a while you find even an eight mile tempo run isn't that daunting and a 16 mile long run is just a "morning stroll" before brunch. It's like a little rebirth at the start of every training season.

In keeping with the spirit of starting the year, I'm also laying out my goals--running and otherwise--for 2009 in no particular order:

1. Log 1,000 miles for the year. The problems with my IT band early on in 2008 set me way back--I got in about 890 miles. But so far I'm in great shape and have three races on the calendar. One thousand miles should be totally doable this year.
2. Get presents for family members' birthdays. It's not really a matter of needing to buy something for someone, it's more a matter of showing my family that I'm still thinking of them even though I'm far away. I got better at this during 2008, but had a hard time with the people who don't need anything and buy everything they want (ahem, parents).
3. I want to be happier in my job. My job has taken a turn toward the crapper pretty much since October and I need to fix that. Not sure what that means just yet, but stay turned.
4. Get more involved in the running community. This is two-pronged. First, I need to get back with the group runs (which I stopped doing over the summer because the heavy mileage didn't go well with the late start on hot summer days). Second, I need to volunteer more at NYRR events.
5. Move to a new place. From what I'm hearing, even the housing market here in NYC is softening. Although we probably won't be able to buy a place, we are going to keep looking for a new apartment since we can hopefully negotiate a deal by moving.
6. Become an uncle. Well, this isn't a goal that I have much control over. It's more my sister's job. But the good news is that she's already two months pregnant! The little guy or girl right now is about the size of a lemon or orange or some other citrus fruit, but by late July we'll have a new member to the family.
7. Run at least five races. I want to do some serious damage to the 50 state goal this year. Right now I have three races lined up for the first half of 2009 and I should be able to get a Fall Half-Marathon and Marathon on the calendar. If all goes according to plan I'll be more than 20% of my way to completion by the end of the year!!