2010: My Year of Running 2000 Kilometers or 1000 Miles Plus Multiple Marathons

31 Races from 5K to 42K in 2010

Where I come from there is a saying which roughly translates to 'whosoever does not look back to where he/she came from will not reach his/her destination'. I don't really know if this is true every single time. After all, I have seen people reach the finish line faster by not looking back. But whether true or not is beside the point. To me at least, looking back allows one to benchmark progress, learn from past mistakes, and chart new goals or directions.  All in a manner much better and wiser.

2190 kilometers or 1361 miles in 2010.

So before I even do my first training run for 2011 tonight, en route to my first race of the year this weekend, let me summarize the year just ended.  'Unbelievable!' is probably the one word that comes close to describing 2010 as viewed from a running perspective. The year set milestones that I never thought a recreational runner and purely hobby blogger like me with a non-athletic past and a full-time day job in a vastly different field could ever accomplish. Consider the following, thanks in part to IJustRan's and DailyMile's statistics:

1. Total running mileage for 2010 was 2190 kilometers or 1361 miles;
2. The first 1000K was logged by early June, and the second 1000K by mid November; the 1000-mile threshold was breached in September.
3. Total number of runs was 184, ranging from 7 to 19 per month, with most mileage (248 kilometers) logged in April while gingerly but religiously training for my virgin marathon.
4. There were 15 runs a month or one run every other day, each run averaging about 12 kilometers or 7.5 miles long.
5. Total time spent running was 318 hours and 42 minutes or 13 days and 6 plus hours if running non-stop - almost half a month.
6. Runs were done on four pairs of shoes- two Brooks models (Glycerin and Adrenaline) each logging over 600K, and a Mizuno Wave Creation and a Nike Lunarglide, each accumulating over 400K.
7. While most runs were in my training base, running was also done in 13 other countries- China, Mali, Pakistan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Nepal, Malaysia, Canada, Singapore, Vietnam, Colombia, Japan, and the US (in 6 states- California, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Louisiana, and Indiana).
8. Formal races of varied distances participated in numbered 31, starting with a 01-10-10 21K in Cebu, my first-ever half-marathon and longest race joined at that particular time.
9. The first-ever marathon race was in May but finished the year with 7 marathons in 7 months in 7 different countries or US states - Santa Rosa, Kuala Lumpur, San Francisco, Toronto, Indianapolis, Singapore and Chiang Mai for a very rare Triple Seven marathon feat.
10. Recording running data was made possible by a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS watch that, coincidentally, also drew its final breath after my last run of the year in Chiang Mai.
11. Started blogging runs in February and had 29 posts in this 'no-ad thus no-income, purely hobby' blog. By year's end, The Scientist Runner was viewed 39,000+ times by visitors from 91 countries and had entered topblogs.ph's top 50 multiple times. 
12. Running friends gained in running-related accounts were 527 for Scientist R. on DailyMile, 108 for scientistrunner on Twitter, and 2983 for Scientist Runner on Facebook.
13. Qualified for Marathon Maniacs club membership in August after completing 3 marathons in 53 days and was on track to reach a four-star Iridium level status with the above running statistics.
14. Ran with entire family (varied distances) in the final run of the year in Chiang Mai, a day after Christmas.

A 2010 Triple Seven: 7 marathons in 7 months in 7 countries/US states

It was a great running year alright- 2010. Based on my experience, I can now say that, anybody willing to invest the time, endure the rigors of training, and healthy enough to run on both feet can finish a marathon. And not just twice a year, as usually recommended, but several times over and over again. However, there are no shortcuts when it comes to training as there is not a single training plan that will suit all.  As I did, each person can and may actually need to mix and match training plan components based on health, preferences, time, and availability. In the end, the plan chosen must respect the distance and aim to build endurance. Speed may be added later. Nutrition and hydration are key ingredients of success before, during, and after running races, as are proper race gear and mental toughness for a successful race finish. Ultimately, however, enjoying the run becomes as important as reaching the finish line. As it would be in life.

Yes, 2010 was a landmark running year against which to measure 2011. As is typical of my person, right from the start, the bar has been set modestly high. The year also demonstrated that whenever one believes, trains, and endures, stuff that only dreams are made of, unbelievably, can and do come true.

Welcome running year 2011!