Happy New Year!!

Saturday 8.5 miles/1:19:12/9:19 average pace

Went up to Walnut Creek with Zach on Saturday for a long run. It was cold and drizzly- about 44 degrees but it felt really chilly. He was doing 12, so we ran about 7 together at an easy pace (well easy for him, normal for me at this point). Then he picked it up a bit and I finished out my run at that pace. It felt GREAT to get in a "real" run! My legs felt good but I had an odd knee twinge about halfway through. I'm keeping my eye on that, of course. I had a great time though. I'm actually feeling a lot more comfortable on my runs than I did before my marathon. My body feels relaxed and my stride natural.

Yesterday, Sunday, we went for a beautiful hike in the Tennessee Valley in Marin. We hiked the 2 miles down to the beach and back up. It's not too steep or anything though- in fact I saw a lot of runners and made a note to go there sometime for a run!

So that's it for 2007! It was another interesting year- some good and some bad. I got a PR in both the half and full marathon distance, which is sweet. But I also dealt with a real pain-in-the ass injury back in January/February. But that lead me to cross training which led to my first triathlon, so that's good! Just shows how it all balances out.

In 2008 I have a few goals. First, I am running the Boston Marathon again. In fact, I am going to register today! After that, I am doing a triathlon - the Showdown at Sundown on June 7th.

After that, I think I am going to train for an Olympic Distance Triathlon this fall. I haven't picked one yet. This is the first step in my long-term goal of completing an Ironman in 2009. I have thought about that for a long time, it really appeals to me. I want to do some kind of crazy endurance event and I don't yet want to run an ultramarathon. I know it's a huge goal and I want to train properly so I'm starting now (with the sprint tri in June). I could easily ignore this goal of mine but I am a little burnt out on marathon racing and need a change of pace. Plus I had this whole "I'm going to be 30 soon" (well, in a couple years but still) realization and decided I need to get my ass in gear if I want to achieve some of my big goals. Don't worry, I have many more big goals for the rest of my life, but there are some things I have always seen myself accomplishing before I have kids and what not. And I guess I just thought they would all just magically happen to me. Turns out, that's not how it works. Well, I better finish what little work I have today and then I'm going to start planning our big trip to Europe. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!