When it comes to running, 2012 was all about the Boston Marathon. With temperatures in the mid- to high 80s F, I wasn’t about to keep up my pattern of improving upon my marathon times. In fact, I finished Boston at just over four hours, my slowest recorded time since I finished my first one in the early 1980s.
So, despite my age (57), I remain convinced that I can improve upon my personal best, which I managed on 10-10-10: 3:33:08 in the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, Pa. I’ve yet to decide where I will run a marathon next year, but I will do one in 2013. I did both Pittsburgh and Steamtown in 2010, so perhaps I’ll get it together to run one of those. Or the nascent Brooklyn Marathon, which had its 3rd annual running last month. In any event, I resolve to run faster than 3:33:08 this year.
If I were to offer advice to others, who would like to get into a regular running regimen in 2013, I’d say take it slow. Oh, and don’t just see any doctor, if you are on the old side and looking to get medical clearance to begin a running program. (Some folks just stop when their GP, who oftentimes is inclined to treat running as a pastime for certain age individuals as akin to tobacco smoking or a bottle-of-wine-per-night drinking habit, tells them to quit.) Make an appointment with a sports medicine doctor and tell her that you want to run. It could be that your knees or back or ankles, one or both of which caused you to stop running in the first place, are not so damaged or worn down that they can’t be repaired through muscle-strengthening or stretching. I’ve become a big believer in cross-training, in building up body strength while I work on running harder, longer and faster. So far, so good. And there is nothing about my case that is all that special. I’m more a found athlete than a born one. And man, do I love the benefits of a running life, which I have expounded here on this blog for the past two and a half years.
As for my other resolutions, I’ve a few days to meditate on them. (With hopes the apocalypse threat will pass without incident …)
Happy pre-New Year, everybody. To your health, and the best of all things in 2013 and beyond.
Next: Running for Your Life: A Brooklyn Holiday
