Since last June when I hit the 500 mile mark:

• I’ve burned through another pair of running shoes and am now on my third pair of Asic Gel Numbus 12s.
• I’ve run in 3 more races: 2 10Ks and a 5K
• I’ve run my farthest run: 10 miles
• I’ve run the most miles in in a month: 86 miles in November (beating out May and October)
• I’ve past my 1 year anniversary of running in September.

Other notable facts (from my dailymile.com log):

Also my wife and boys have started running, and now when we talk about races, it isn’t: “Which races will I do?” It is “Which races will we do?”

Running is a lot less lonely than the first 500 miles.  I now get to run with my wife on a regular basis and it is almost like going on a date.  A chance for us to talk, to plan, to pray without the interruptions of 3 boys.

Finally, one notable thing that I’ve learned over the past 1000 miles:

Running is a Gift.  The sunrises that I never would’ve seen. The special times with my wife. The fleeting glimpse of the awesomeness of God.  The opportunities to blow off the stresses of the day.These have been the little things that add up to the Gift of running.  It is hard, but Good.

See you in another 1000 miles.

But a year later and 3 more races under my belt, I decided to try this race—my first trail race.

My goal: To finish the race and to experience what a trail race was like. I had no time goals or any visions that I could actually compete against anyone except myself.  I didn’t even bother really training much for the race.  I just kept up my normal 15-20 miles a week up until the race.

However, I did go and run the race course the day after Christmas.  In the past, I found that this helped eliminate some of the anxiety of not knowing what to expect or how far to go.  The course was basically a 6-ish mile course of local trails through the woods.  My trial run went fairly smoothly (although I had to consult a trail map several times to make sure I was going the right way).

The website promised a “race that lives up to its name” because the first year “half of the trail was covered with snow and ice” and the second year they had “powdery snowfall the morning of the race.”

But this year, it was a balmy 50 degrees and no hint of precipitation for the whole week leading up to the race.  So perfect conditions.  I was a little disappointed and would have preferred it to be at least 10 degrees colder.

Never the less, the race went well.  I started out too fast in the first 0.5 miles that was run on the road leading up to the trail. But when we got to the trail, for the first 1 1/2 miles, it was like being part of a human centipede–running in a single file line.  That turned out to be a good thing for me, because it slowed my pace down enough so I could catch my breath.

The trail also had several challenging uphill portions that made the course tougher than either of the other 10K races that I’ve run. Here’s the elevation profile:

I ended up coming in 159th place with a time of 1:04:06 (10:25 pace).  There was a bit of jockeying at the end with a 19 year old who I had passed on the trail, but tried to beat me at the finish line.

I beat him by 6/100 ths of a second. Hurray for small victories.

Another small victory is that I didn’t come in last in my age group.  I was 19th out of 21. I’m glad that I ran the race, but don’t know that trail racing is my thing.

Next up will be to start training for a 1/2 marathon in April.

But the sunset is here and 2011 is fading away.

I enjoyed sharing photos from our past year.  It seems like most of them were of little ~A~.  I think that I need to be more mindful of that this next year and not include him in every. single. photo.  I mean, he doesn’t change that fast.  (Ok, yes he does.)

I’m looking forward to 2012—there is a lot in store this next year.  I hope to be a little better about posting next year, but no promises.

Have a Happy New Year!

We just got back from my folks house and there I got the opportunity to watch ~A~ enjoy one of my favorite toys from ancient times:  “Wonder Horse”.

Back in the day, I was a real cowboy, and a cowboy has got to have a horse.  (Sorry, but I didn’t have a picture of me riding the horse…)

I remember riding that horse for hours at a time, rounding up cattle and galloping like the wind.

I was a real cowboy and “Wonder Horse,” with a “WH” brand on his haunches, was my horse.

Believe it or not, he was still alive when my parents dug him out of the attic for little ~A~ to enjoy.

~A~ was a bit lukewarm towards “Wonder Horse” at first, but warmed up to him after a bit and he started to really enjoy himself.

And decided to bring a friend along for the ride.

And just a comment for all those toy safety advocates out there: This sucker would never pass muster today.  Springs that could pinch little fingers, sharp edges not covered in plastic. You could get bucked off this sucker and get hurt easily. 

But I never remember any injury from “Wonder Horse.” I never remember pinching my fingers, and I’ll tell you what:

There is no way that some cheap, nanny-state-manufactured-hunk-of-plastic horse could ever last as long as or give a ride as good as that 40 year old Wonder Horse.

Another future cowboy agrees.

It took him a couple of tries, but he did it!

“Ei-ei-0h!”

“And on that farm there was a tractor…Ei ei ohh!”

What’s the fun in having a tractor if you can’t sing the song.

He decided to do one better than that.

You mean your boys actually own non-camo clothing???? Wow….

It is true that the boys wear a lot of camo clothing, so much so that I too wonder if they have any non-camo clothing (they do).

This year, their Oma and Opa (that’s German for “Nana” and “Poppy”) got them camo ornaments to put on the tree, and after Shelly’s comment, I had to post pictures of them.

The funny thing is that it took me a while to find each of these ornaments on the tree—they blend in so well.

Merry Christmas!