Happy New Decade!

I couldn't resist one last run, with a full moon, on New Years Eve, and a Blue Moon at that. The Denver Trail Runners only went 6.5 miles, and we didn't push. It was worth it.
My plantar didn't like it, and my sprained ankle was getting torqued on the uneven and unpredictable footing, but it worked out. It was great weather. Not too cold, not too windy, and the clouds weren't enough to cover the moon.

With this years incessant injuries, I can't say it was a particularly good year. I managed only on PR. Recovering from the flu, I ran the Salida marathon in the best course conditions ever, which allowed me to get my slow butt across the finish line early. but my year unraveled after that, with plantar faciitis starting during the Moab 100 the end of March and persisting throughout the rest of the year. PF derailed every race I did after that. I didn't start three races, DNF'd three others, and barely finished what was left.
March was my only "good" month, with 221.5 miles.
October was the worst, with only 16.6 miles. My PF would wake me in the night with spasms.

The competitor in me is very bummed. I was really starting to get fast. I was starting to finish in the single-digit percentile of the mass of contestants.
The Zen in me, though, remembers too many lives I've lived that were no so well. I've still managed to do more this year than any other before I turned 45. Even with PF, I'm as mobile as any normal person. I'm not normal, so it doesn't suit me to be so sedentary. It sure beats being partially paralyzed, like I was ten years ago. It sure beats lots of other situations other people have had to endure.
So I still feel pretty lucky, overall, if I don't think too greedy.

I only managed 1265.2 miles this year. That averages out to less than 3.5 miles/day. That's still 2.5 miles/day more than I ran five years ago or any other year of my life.

The graph tells the story of my year pretty well...


Tomorrow, I leave on my one-week vacation. Since my ass hurts all the time, from biking and rowing and sitting, I'm not going to bike. Before I made that decision, though, I did the heaviest maintenance on my bike I've ever done. My PF isn't good enough to run double-digit mileage. So I'm heading into the snowy, frigid mountains with my toboggan to camp, howl at the moon, and watch the snow fall.
Then I'm coming down to stay in a hot springs. I'll soak, and hike, and read, and get massages.

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope this new decade is better and brighter than the last.