I took last year off.  I didn’t run at all.  Literally.  In fact I took up heavier drinking, gained almost 30 pounds at the worst and started to smoke again.  Considering I endured the Columbus Marathon in 2006 this was a complete opposite of what I was doing.

This past September we bought a treadmill.  A very nice treadmill.  I have signed up to run the flying pig half marathon in May.  I have to run.  I quit smoking cigarettes about 2 1/2 weeks ago and have lost almost 30 pounds since October.  I’m going to be cleaning up the site and making changes to it soon but I am running again.  That’s all that counts.

This year has started out to be rough. The great thing is that everyday is a new day and a new opportunity to start over. I have definitely not been keeping up with everything. But I have gained a new breath, so to speak, and am looking forward to the coming year.

What makes this year better than past years? Let me share with you the list.

1. My wife isn’t pregnant and can’t get pregnant. That may not sound that nice but believe me it makes everything in life SO much easier. Yes she reads my blog.
2. I have signed up for a triathlon class that I have to participate with other people. There’s nothing like shaming yourself into working out.
3. I have started taking Taichi from a true Martial Arts Master. I could go on about his qualifications but let’s just say that when he teaches me something he lets’s me see the Yang, Su, Wu, and Chen variation of the movement before teaching me the easy one. For the first two lessons we have focused on learning basic movements and relearning how to breath. I will go into that in another note.
4. I have gained much more knowledge about how my body processes food and how food can help or hurt you. Learning about it hasn’t completely sunk in but I understand better now how things work so I’m at least a little ahead of the game.
5. I am determined to finish two marathon’s this year and beat my time for last year in both of them.
6. I might have finally figured out a better way to balance out my work/life.
7. My family goes to the gym as much as I do.
8. I feel better about things, though that has been known to change.

I couldn’t make the list quite 10 but 8 is pretty good. They are definitely not in the order of significance. So here’s to the best running year ever.

Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.
- Muhammad Ali

It’s the end of the old year and the new year is starting. it’s been a dismal 4 months of running or not running as it turns out. I’m still scheduling my races and I promise to make this a better year of writing and putting things together for everyone.