Somebody's Following Me So I'll Look Back

9:38 PM

Ok, nobody's following me. I just wanted to get your attention. But here's why I put that. I often run at night, which I enjoy doing b/c it's peaceful and the roads are clear. But the multiple street lights make several shadows of me on the road and I always think somebody is running right behind me. It actually scares me for a split second every time. I have to move my arms in some crazy way to make sure all the shadows are in fact me. And I'll often look back to make sure nobody is there. Happened again tonight. I'm paranoid. I know. Just another thing that makes me a little crazy.

But here's the real reason for the "look back" in the title. I thought I'd look back on 2009 and list the top 10 moments in my running or related to running. 2009 was a great year for running. In fact it was by far the best running year I've ever had. Listing 10 favorites was pretty easy. So here they are with a little comment about each:

10. Trek in June. Now technically this was not "running" but we sure did do a whole lot of walking. We walked many many miles to get to the top of Mt. Antora in Colorado. It was one of the best weeks of my life and I will never forget it. So it has to go on this list.

9. Losing a good bit of weight. I don't know how much I actually lost this year. But when I weighed myself the Sunday before the St. Jude marathon and saw 149, it was pretty exciting. I do like being semi-skinny again.

8. Co-hosting the Runners Round Table podcast last week. I know this just happened, but it was a lot of fun and it felt good to be a part of that. It just made me realize what a great group of runners are out there and it's so much fun to talk with them and share stories. I'm already in talks to do another show and am very excited.

7. It's a secret. I'm not at liberty to mention #7 yet, but I promise I will very soon. Let's just say something happened related to running that I'm very excited about but I have to wait a little longer to share it. Sorry. Soon, I promise.

6. Starting this blog. I have really enjoyed keeping up with this blog and it has enabled me to get in touch with a lot of runners out there. It helped me with #8 up there. It's a great way to keep track of what I'm doing and share with others who are interested as well. Plus, I really enjoy reading other blogs too.

5. The trip to Memphis. I'll mention the actual race in Memphis in a second, but just the trip was fantastic. It was my first "running trip" and it was a blast. It made me want to travel more to run races. It's fun and easy to run local races but there is something about traveling, exploring a new city, and being part of a new race that makes it really special.

4. Placing 2nd at the Cedar Hall School 5K on Halloween. I had no idea what to expect that day and the race conditions were less than favorable. But it ended up being a great day and I was pretty proud of my performance.

3. Finishing the one mile race with Carter in April. Carter and I ran 25.2 miles together, one mile at a time, before the one mile race downtown on the night before my first marathon. So together, we ran 26.2 miles and had a great time. He did so well that night and running with him, finishing with him, high-fiving Coach Jeff Fisher at the end, and seeing the smile on his face when we had a great time was awesome. I loved running with my son and am excited we're doing it again this year.

2. The marathon in Memphis. It was my 2nd marathon to finish but my first one to run completely and my best time with 3:38. It was such a great day. One of the best of 2009. I will never forget this marathon. It's almost a tie with #1. I absolutely loved running this race.

1. Finishing my first marathon ever. April 25. Country Music marathon here in Nashville. No, the race didn't go exactly as I'd hoped and the heat was brutal, but it was still my first. I did finish it and so it has to be on top. I never dreamed, even a couple years ago, that I would ever finish a marathon. And so to actually be able to say I did was such an unbelievable feeling. It filled me with so much happiness and self-confidence. It was a life-changing, once in a lifetime, experience.

So there they are. In my next post, I plan to list my 10 goals for running in 2010 so check that out. I'll try to post it over the weekend. I am having a little bit harder time getting motivated to run since my marathon. It's hard when my next big race is so far away. But I've still been doing pretty good. I ran 11 on Sunday and it felt good. Planning to do another long run this Sunday.

Since this is my last post before Christmas, let me say Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope everyone has an amazing holiday and a very happy new year!

Keep runnin',
Albert