2010 Draws to a Close

I finished off 2010 with a 14.5 mile road run this afternoon while Sam napped. The 0.5 miles was added so that the year's mileage would be an even 1100.00 :-) Couldn't go out with any sort of fraction when I was so close to a nice even number! It was a beautiful day. There wasn't much of a breeze and it was warm and bright. I ran the same route Ryan ran the other week, along Foreside Road and back on Route 24. Families were out in force on the sled hill along Foreside Road, enjoying the weather and the now-melting snow. The road wanders along the farmlands above the river, and the first 8 miles of the run were either flat or downhill. The running felt good and easy. As I climbed the first hill on the road up to Rt. 24, I knew I was in for a bit more rolling terrain on the return. Rt. 24 was busy with traffic, and the wind was in my face. I took an Espresso gel around mile 10 in the hopes that it would help power me up the hills and through the wind. I was definitely feeling the miles (my most since Stonecat!) by the time I turned up the final hill along the route through the fairgrounds, but overall, it was a good run and a good way to end the year! Finished up in 2:02:18, so certainly faster than I would have hoped, which was a nice surprise.

With Ryan sick (again), we opted to stay home tonight instead of hanging out with Nate and Shannon, enjoying an early dinner of Indian food with Sam before putting her to bed. We're now relaxing on the couch, and somehow I'm sure I'll be in bed way before the ball drops tonight! :-)

And with that, Happy New Year everyone! May 2011 bring us all much happiness, laughter and many fun adventures!

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2010 numbers:

Total running miles - 1100.00
Total running days - 199
Total walk days - 16

Considering I spent about three months babying my left knee/calf and didn't do much running during that time, I'm pretty happy with the numbers, and certainly consider 2010 was a good running year. Not the most mileage ever, but a solid year with some great races during the Bradbury series, and my first trail marathon at Stonecat in November. Definitely not bad, and hopefully a good base for even more running in 2011!