Written by It’s the time of year where one reflects on the year gone by. I can’t believe 2011 passed so quickly. It seems like yesterday I was on a return flight from Puerto Rico looking down on the remnants of the Christmas blizzard as we were landing at JFK. Like most years, there was the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, here are a few of mine.
My 4:26:23 in the New Jersey Marathon was among my highlights of 2011. © 2011 Brightroom Photography
The Good
I ran three marathons and seven half marathons, it would have been eight but Hurricane Irene wrecked havoc and the Bronx Half was cancelled. I set a p.r. in the Al Gordon Classic and erased bad memories of past perfomances in the Hook Half Marathon, (my 2:02:48 was my fastest half of 2011) and the Yonkers Half where I improved upon my previous time by over eleven minutes.
The New Jersey Marathon in May was personal highlight of the year. New Jersey was the first marathon I attended in 2008, I was Esther’s caddy. It was here that I was first bitten by the marathon bug. The fast course and amazing crowd support are a few reasons I’ve recommended this race to those looking for a spring marathon. Esther returned the favor, caddying me and running about a half marathon herself, meeting me at various points of the course.
Esther and I visited Niagra Falls, two days before running the Buffalo Marathon
The Bad
Losing focus as the year got rough. 2011 had plenty of personal obstacles to overcome, a running injury and finding a new job was two of them. In the past I used physical activity, running, riding, and gym workouts as a way to release stress — not this year. Ignoring the advice I’ve given to countless others over the years, I gained weight and my self-esteem took a beating for awhile. I didn’t keep up with running, workouts or this blog. I’m back and one of my resolutions for 2012 is to learn my mistakes from 2011.
The Ugly
Finishing up the Buffalo Marathon, I felt a lot worse than I look in this picture. © 2011 Sport Photo
Plantar Fasciitis, the annoying injury that has plagued athletes for years frustrated me for most of 2011. Eli Manning, Lance Armstrong and R.A.Dickey all dealt with the injury, it was my turn this year (although I wouldn’t put myself in the same category as the three of them).
Hot, humid and sticky conditions for the Buffalo Marathon and the ING New York City Marathon Tune-up were some of the worst I’ve raced in. The Sunday in Buffalo was so miserable I considered quitting at the halfway point. The conditions for both races had me longing for the arctic 14 degree weather and frozen Gatorade ‘snow cones’ in January’s Manhattan Half Marathon.
What Did I Learn?
Life challenges all of us, 2011 was my year to face my share of them. The key is to keep moving forward.