Hello there!

Hi and welcome to my blog! I have a number of blogs, most of them somewhat running-themed, floating about the internet; all with various level of in-depth coverage about my running and racing adventures; all spanning various time periods in my running "career."

So why a new one? Well, for one, blogspot seems to be THE place to have a blog about running. For another, 2009 is drawing to a close. 2009 was more than just a good year for me running-wise, it was a GREAT year. I set PRs at 5k, 10k, and the marathon. I raced my first 50k (and finished 4th!). I ran more miles (as of this writing 1750) than I ever have in a calendar year (and note, there's still a month and a half left of this year). But along with all the highs that came in 2009, there were some lows. In fact, this was quite the roller coaster year for me, running-wise (the point is further driven home when one takes a gander at my weekly and monthly mileage graphs. Yes, I make graphs for each. Yes, I AM that big a running dork). Consistentcy was not something I enjoyed much of, following up a good start to the year with some lackluster spring months, then an injury, followed by a very solid summer, which was followed by a much less stellar fall and... you get the picture. 80 mile weeks back-to-back and then... 20 mile weeks? Or nothing? The point is, as well as I ran and raced this year, I'm SURE I could have done even better with more consistency. Instead of huge mileage weeks/months followed by almost nothing, a steady progression almost certainly would've yielded similar results with much less frustration. And, thinking long term, steady and consistent running > brief periods of excess followed by periods of nothing/injury, rinse, repeat.

So that's why I'm writing this new running blog. I've learned a lot in the past few years of serious, somewhat competitive running. I'm still learning. And I'm still refining my approach to training, as well as my short- and long-term plans and goals. All of this seems to indicate to me that a fresh blog would be a good way to get a quasi-fresh start. I'm not re-doing everything. But I have big plans for 2010 & beyond and this is my step one to that end. I'm even getting a bit of a jump on things, seeing how it's still 2009.

I hope you enjoy the months and miles to come as much as I'm sure I will!

Happy running!