2010 in 2010

So the 2009 holiday season has come and gone and another year had begun.  I finished the 2009 with 1167 running miles.  I will not even mention my swim and bike miles since they are absolutely nothing to speak of.  The only training goal I am setting for 2010 is to run 2010 miles.  It is a lofty goal, but one that I think I should be able to achieve. 

It is already 7 days past the New Year as I write this, but I feel it bears documenting how the New Year went.  So far it has started well.  On New Year’s Eve I got my last run of 2009; a strong 7.5 miles.  I then spent a few hours with my good friend Aristorat at our local pub recounting how 2009 was not one of the better years of our lives and how we made the most out of some difficult situations.  I’ve talked about them ad-infinitem and I have no desire to go back into again on this new year.  We remembered our loved one’s past and toasted towards having a more joyous 2010.  After we left our pub, I then headed with my family to another friends house to boil meat in a vat of boiling oil.  It’s a yearly tradition and it was a pleasurable way to kill off 2009.

New Year’s Day started with a successful 6.6 mile run with Aristorat.  We did what we call The Big A Memorial Run.  This is a run around Greenwood Cemetery in which we stop inside to visit my father.  I asked Dad to watch over me and my family in 2010 and told him I hope he is having a good time up in Heaven.  I am sure he is playing cards, betting on the horses, at the Craps table and chasing women.   I wish I was half the man he was.

After the run, Aristorat and I quickly went home to prepare for the annual Polar Bear plunge into the Atlantic Ocean in Coney Island.  Beast Jr was joining me for the 2^nd year in a row, although I will admit he was a little bit more nervous about it this year than last.  It was very cold last year and I think he was afraid of the suffering that would be involved after he came out of the water, based on his past experience.  He is a trooper though and plunged right in without hesitation.  Aristorat and I met our usual crew, which included our good friend Willie.  This day would be the last time we see Willie for quite some time as he is about to ship off to Afghanistan.  There was a lot to be said about this, but I think everyone was afraid to vocalize it.  We all know what we are thinking.  I pray that he will come back home safely and in one piece. 

Also at the Polar Bear dip was my friend @Brujitalinda.  I don’t get to see her often enough and it was a sincere pleasure to see her in her usual skimpy Polar Bear outfit.  I tried talking her into coming back with us for some Hot Toddies and Chile, but she was having no part of it.  One of these year’s I’ll get her to go.

The 2^nd day of the year I spent skiing with my children and a friend of my daughter’s.  We went to Mohawk Mountain up in the middle of Connecticut.  I hadn’t been on the slopes in exactly 1 year 3 days, but my skiing legs held true and I managed not to fall at all.  My quads felt a little tired as I went down the hills, but I attributed that to being out of shape more than being tired from any running I was doing as of late.  It was a long day of driving and skiing and by the time we got home I was ready for bed.  Having taken the 2^nd day of the year off from running, I was already putting myself in a deficit for my 2010 mileage goal for the year.

On Sunday, the 3^rd, I ran with Aristorat and we did the 2 Bridge run.  This is a run over the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.  It was cold and windy and we encountered several periods of snow along the way.  I was a little nervous about doing the run as I hadn’t run this far in quite a while and I was coming off of 4 days of decent athletic activity – one of these days which included a double; a 2am drunken run through Prospect Park, followed by a 7pm longish run around Prospect Park on the same day.  However, I was successful in completing the 12.1 mile run; I appear to have broken through my malaise.

I took off Monday, the 4^th of January from running since I was crippled with a stunning migraine headache.  However on the 5^th and 6^th days of the year I ran 7.7 miles and 7 miles respectively.  This put me exactly even with the number of miles I need to run per day (5.5) in order to meet my 2010 running goal.  I am a little tired tonight, Thursday the 6^th, but I am going to go out an attempt the run.  I usually go out with a friend for some libations on Thursday evenings, but I am psyched about my newfound running vigor.  I want to keep my momentum going.  I’ll report back later how I’ve done. – I ran 7 miles…