I've begun the year with a head cold that's spread to my lungs and I've been a miserable, sneezing, coughing, phlegmy, pathetic creature pretty much since January 1st. Knowing that I was getting sick, it may not have been the wisest decision to run the four mile New Year's Eve race in the park, but it was fun and it was a hoot to run the race in formal wear. It doesn't count towards the nine races to qualify for next year's New York Marathon and it isn't even chip timed, so in hindsight, it's a little hard to see why it costs $35 dollars to enter or why people actually pay it. The fireworks were nice, but since they start at the same time the race does, the runners pretty much miss out on the best part of the show. We did it in about 31 minutes, so it was really more of a fun run than a race, but I can't complain since I really should have been in bed anyway trying to avoid these nasty germs that have laid me low since then.
So there's not a whole lot to say thus far about this year in terms of running since today was the first time I've ventured out for a few tentative miles. I did end up finishing up last year though with a full 2,400 miles which is 568 more than last year, 1,278 more than in 2005 and 1,928 more than in all of 2004! The hardest part now is going to be facing the daunting task of outdoing myself again this year. Honestly, right now, feeling the way I do...it's a tough thing to even think about.
At some point I'll have to set some actual goals, but the only goal right now is just getting back into a regular workout schedule. After I ran Columbus I had ambitious ideas about preparing to run a fast late spring/early summer marathon, but at this point, reality dictates that I think more seriously about building a solid base this spring and then training hard all summer again for something meaningful in the fall. But right at this moment, I'm going to just concentrate on trying to run four miles at a time without coughing up the majority of my lung tissue.
