2008 recap and 2009 looking forward

I have to start this post with a big shout out to Julie Gunn who was supposed to email me pictures of Dec 31/08-Jan 1/09. No pics as of yet but when they arrive I'll throw a few up. It was a pretty sweet night of Rock Band where I rocked the mic right. I scored very highly according to the computer but sadly not according my band mates. Haters.
New Years Eve was followed up with a breakfast of banana chocolate chip pancakes and a mid day trip to the Pacific Ocean for a little Polar Bear swim. I'm counting that in the training log as the first swim of the year. Total: 2 meters. Hardest set ever. Is a Speedo supposed to be that baggy in the front?

2008 was a pretty rad year (for training) and marked a number of firsts for me as well as a few personal bests:
I set out (and started this blog because of) trying to qualify for Boston. And I did. So 'A' goal for 2008 acheived!
PB at 10K by 13 seconds, broken by a couple minutes later in the year
PB at 26.2 by 20 minutes! (and a BQ by 13 seconds! Close call!)
First race at 13.1.
PR at 13.1-ha.
First year with a running coach
First online fued/challenge with another runner
First super public race day smack down by said runner...

All in all, a great year for me training wise. I logged more miles last year than any year in my life so far and did it while remaining injury free for the most part. I had always seen 50 miles as my peak weekly milage and this year logged a couple 70 mile weeks with no ill effects (aside from the odd day I sleepwalked through the first half of my work day. Note: If I did your financial planning between August and December, you might want to recheck the math!) which brings me to the big take away for me from 2008:

When done properly my body can handle a heavier training load than I previously thought. This is good news for a guy like me who doesn't have any real natural gifts but isn't afraid to put in the work. I'm making the switch over from running to triathlon this year and although I was a little apprehensive at first, now I'm pretty excited to see whether I can learn to swim and ride a bike up a hill and not just down.

Even though I set some big PB's and had what I consider a great training year, I didn't perform as well as I could have. I neglected the mental aspect or training during the year. That brings me to the big goal for 2009:

Be less of a pussy.

I've ordered "Pursuit of Excellence" from my local library and will focus a lot more attention this year on the mental game with the goal of getting tougher between the ears and bringing pride to my countrymen and women around the world. Long story short: I'm going to learn to "suck it up, princess!"

Oh, and also, I've sworn off candy.