Final Run of the Year

During last year's snowboarding season, my running mileage dropped dramatically. In fact, from January through March, I barely managed to run more than five miles per week...a slip which likely led to my meltdown during the Palos Verdes Half Marathon. So, to keep on track, I needed to run today, my first day home after a five days on Mammoth Mountain.

That said, my real reason for running today was more about achieving 800 miles in 2008 than anything else. Yes, I was curious to see if all that time at higher elevations would help my breathing (which I think it did). Yes, I wanted to see if my legs could endure pounding even though they were still sore from snowboarding (no issues to report). Yes, I needed to know if a five day break from running would kill my pace (a 48:38 10km split suggests it did not). But those were all secondary goals to achieving this milestone.


Of course, I did not begin the year with any mileage goal in mind. Should I target more miles in 2009?