2010 and 2011

I promised a 2010 recap. My brain is a little fuzzy, but if I don't do it today, I won't do it at all. So, though I didn't do much in the way of official mileage and speed tracking (who knew that running could turn into such an obsession in 12 short months?) here's what I know:

-I started the year able to run, at most, a 5k. A 10 minute mile was still superhumanly fast. Sometime in Jan or Feb, I decided to see if I could run for a whole hour on the treadmill. I did it. I ran 4.5 miles in an hour. (When you have short legs, yes, you can run that slow and it's still a RUN, not a walk!) That was, I think, the point at which I decided that I wasn't limited to 5k's for the rest of my life. So I signed up for a 10k.

-My goal for my first 10k was an 11:30 pace, which I met. Well, close enough.

-6.5 months later, I knocked over a full minute off that 10k pace.

-At the end of the year, I can actually run 6ish miles in an hour. A 10 minute mile is no longer superhuman, but pretty normal. On the last day of the year, I ran 5k in 30:55, and that includes waiting at a traffic light for a minute.

-And of course, I started the year at 163 lbs and ended at 138 lbs.

Onward to 2011! I'm totally stoked for the Garmin - now I can officially track my mileage and watch my speed increase over the year. Because it totally will.

I began 2011, despite stomach grumblies (last night's festivities included burgers, fries, chips and dip, cupcakes, champagne and vodka...) and 5-6 hours of sleep, I got out of bed and went to my first (unofficial) run with the marathon training group people. 5 miles over hills in 51:39. YES. People were very nice and supportive and kept me motivated even though I was wondering if that was really a smart idea.

The negative...I've been so excited about the Garmin that I forgot the darn thing needs to be charged sometimes. So I had to use Endomondo on the phone instead. :( The good news is that Endo will import to Garmin, and Garmin fixed Endo's notorious issues with mileage, so at least I have it logged.

Oh yeah, as an aside....5-6 hours of sleep may sound ok to some people, but I am a SLEEPER. 8-9 hours for me or don't even try asking me to function.

Also awesome.....it was 61 degrees yesterday and in the 50's this morning. HOLY AWESOME RUNNING WEATHER, Batman!!! I've missed my capris. And running on pavement, not ice and snow.

And one more thing to start 2011 off on a good foot....got some new ink/motivation yesterday, on my left forearm so I'll see it every time I check the Garmin. (Well, when I'm not bundled up like crazy). It means (roughly) "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger." There are several translations; this was my favorite. I thought that destroy/confirm was the most appropriate and accurate way to say it, at least to me.