2009 in review

So, I just finished looking back over my stats for 2009, and it's a little disappointing.

All told, I managed just 2,063.21 fitness miles during the year, including 1,885.55 on the bike and 177.66 running. All told, MapMyRide.com tells me that I managed to burn 144,742 calories during my workouts.

There was a time when those numbers would have left me feeling satisfied with myself, but now they're far less than what I had wanted. For starters, I had set a goal of 2,500 miles cycling for 2009, after tallying about 1,700 in 2008.

But there were some victories over the course of the year, beginning with the fact that I'm running! Just a year ago, I never would have dreamed that I would ever run again, except perhaps away from hungry wolves or something. About a decade ago, a doctor had told me that my right knee was pretty bad in terms of osteoarthritis, probably from getting whacked around a little too much in football practice and bike wrecks as a kid. As I got older, I began limping more and more, and approaching weather or long car rides would render me nauseous with pain.

But a funny thing happened. As I rode my bike more and more, my knee got stronger and, probably more importantly, I began to shed some weight ... and the pain got less and less. Last spring, when thunderstorms were on the forecast, I noticed that my knee wasn't hurting, even though it normally would. Then I realized that I could not remember the last time it did hurt.

Now, I won't say that I'm healed, because if I overdo it, I do get some pain. But not as much. Certainly not as often. And what I do get is either easily tolerated or blasted away with a little aspirin.

Then last summer, I was looking over the activities calendar at the website for my local fitness center/bike shop, Pro-Fitness MultiSports, and I happened to see a duathlon on the schedule for October. Since there aren't really any bike races held in my area, I figured this would be as close as I could get ... as long as I could handle the run.

I didn't think it would be too hard. It was just a 5K run, 18-mile bike ride and 3K run. As long as I trained a little bit beforehand, I should be able to work up to that.

So, about mid-July, I went to the local college 0.6-mile walking track and ran one lap. A couple days later, I came back and did two laps, then a two more a couple days after that. Then, one night the following weekend, I took the whole family down and we all walked and ran. I ran three laps, then retreated to a bench to wait for my wife, who at the time was running much more than me. As I watched my wife and sons run, I was feeling pretty happy. Here I was, at long last able to run with them, and getting ready for a duathlon to boot! I was already up to nearly two miles, with very little effort, and I only needed to get up to five miles over the next three months! Life was good.

Until I tried to stand up. My left leg wouldn't quite hold me. At first, I thought maybe other knee was developing osteoarthritis, but the pain was actually more in the shin, right below my knee. "Oh well, these things happen," I thought. "Probably just tried to do a little too much too soon. I'll rest a couple of days and it will be alright."

Except it wasn't. Not the next day. Not the day after that. Not the next week. If anything, it was just getting worse those first couple of days, and then it just stayed that way. I could not place any weight on my left leg, and just laying a finger on my shin would result in excruciating pain.

I started Googling "knee pain." Looking over common running injuries, nothing quite seemed to match up. The symptoms didn't quite match up to runner's knee, or shin splints, or any of the exotic maladies I discovered. The only thing that seemed close to what I was feeling was when I read the symptoms of a stress fracture, but even then I couldn't be sure.

I didn't bother seeing a doctor. As I told a friend at the time, the only things the doctors around here would do would be (A) tell me to stay off of it as much as possible, which I was already doing, and (B) give me a prescription for painkillers, which I would throw in the trash.

After a few weeks, I was ready to bike again, but I figured I was done with running. There was no way I wanted to hurt myself again, possibly worse. Still, I was really bummed. I couldn't run with my family. I couldn't compete in the duathlon.

Over the next few months, I focused on riding my bike and, thanks to simultaneous transmission problems in both my cars, but funding to repair only one of them, that focus got a big boost from my sudden need to commute to work by bike.

Then, September came, and the duathlon loomed large on the horizon. I really wanted to compete, and since I'd had no more trouble with my leg, I thought I could maybe give running one more try. A couple of weeks before the duathlon, I started running again, and worked my way up to three miles before the day of the race. So I entered.

I awoke the morning of the race after getting only four hours of sleep. I was nervous, no doubt, but there was more. I was also puking and had diarrhea. Maybe that was just nerves, too. Whatever, I was not going to miss out on the duathlon. (I would find out over the next week it was actually the start of a stomach virus.)

And it was raining outside! Perfect!

After a slight rain-delay, we lined up and began the 5K portion. There were only 10 competing in the duathlon, but there were a lot more who were simultaneously competing in just the 5K, so we had a pretty good crowd to start the race. And during the first half-mile, I felt like I was going to own the race. I was passing all sorts of people! After that half-mile, though, they all started to pass me back. I finished the 5K in just over 29 minutes, last by a good lot among the duathlon competitors, and ahead of only a few mothers and their children in the rest of the field.

Oh well, so I was not the second coming of Steve Prefontaine. I didn't have time to mope about it. I jumped on my bike for stage 2 and started pedaling hard.

The course was a straight up nine miles out-and-back around the local lake, and I was relieved to see that I didn't encounter the leaders coming back until I was almost six miles in. I was still far behind, but maybe I could finish somewhat respectably. Plus, I could always blame my finish on riding the only hybrid in a field of race bikes.

But then I rounded a curve and -- what! -- another rider! In front me! And I was catching up! And I passed her! (OK, so it was a female. I was just happy to no longer be in last place.)

That gave me a bit of a boost, but it also left me in a panic. I thought the other rider was just resting up and would soon be breezing past me again. I'd look behind me from time to time, and I wouldn't see her, but that did nothing to allay my fears. And I was using so much energy just trying to stay out of last place, I was certain I would be passed once we got to the last running leg.

Speaking of that last leg. It came much too soon. And although it was a full 2K shorter, it was over a bunch of hills. I hit some of those hills, and even though my legs were pumping and my breath was harried, it felt like I was standing still trying to climb.

Then the course flattened out a bit to circle a small city park and head back, when I passed another racer! This time a male! Now, not only was a no longer last, I was also no longer the last man! I felt bad passing the guy, and even tried to run alongside him for a little bit, but he was apparently feeling even more spent than I was, and he kept dropping back, no matter how much I tried to stay with him, so I just went back to my normal speed.

Finally, the race ended and I finished 8th out of 10. I was happy to have finished, and especially glad not to have finished last, but I was especially proud of the fact that I did not stop or walk even once!

After the duathlon, I decided to start running even more. And after Daylight Saving Time ended and it became too dangerous for me to ride my bike to and from work (unlit, rural roads and all that), I decided to run full-time through the winter, rather than languishing when I couldn't ride my bike.

One day, upon advice from a friend who runs marathons and ultras and is training for the Louisville Ironman event, I was looking at Hal Higdon's website for running pointers. I was looking over the novice marathon training program, noticed it covered 18 weeks, quickly did the math and realized I could do the training program all through the winter and finish it just in time to start riding my bike again. Plus, I figure if I do that, I won't pack on the 15 lbs. I normally get from not riding all winter long.

So, now I'm in a marathon training program, although I'm not really training for a marathon. I'm just doing it to have something to do when I can't ride. Then again, it would be a shame to do all that training for a marathon and then NOT run a marathon, so ... maybe. We'll see. I won't commit to anything until I make sure I don't injure myself again.

And I even entered a running-only race. On Thanksgiving morning, Pro-Fitness held a Turkey Trot, and I ran the 10K portion, while the rest of my family ran the 5K. This time, I did finish dead last, but I have only myself to blame, because I didn't scout the course first. I was under the impression that there wouldn't be a lot of climbing, so when I got to the first hill, I tried to gut it out and power over it. Bad mistake. I had next to zero energy the rest of the way, and this time I did have to stop and walk ... numerous times. Lesson learned.

All in all, 2009 had its share of achievements and disappointments, just like any other year. But in the end, I feel like I've reached a point where I'm really going to start hitting a new stride and making a lot more progress soon.

And the year ended with at least one bit of truly good news -- I ended 2009 10 lbs. lighter than I ended 2008. There's still a long way for me to go, but I'm getting there. And I'm not going to be in a rush to get there. All I can do is just keep trying to improve my fitness regimen, and my goals will be met along the way.

So, for 2010, I'm setting a New Year's resolution of 2,500 combined miles of cycling and running as a minimum, but I'm really hoping to get to 3,000.