A Decade of Racing: 2010 and 2011

Back in October of 2009, I ran the Twin Cities Marathon. I'd only done one small race since racing in college (2003), and that race was a guess-your-own-time race which I barely trained for. Besides a couple of fits and starts after the guess-your-own-time race, I never got into a regular running routine until training for Twin Cities Marathon.

Now, I've been post-collegiate racing for just over a decade, so I thought it'd be fun to reminisce about my racing over the past ten years in the next five posts.

2010
In 2010 I ran ten races. Here are some highlights:

I ran my first half marathon, the Securian Half Marathon, in January. What I remember best is the unseasonably warm weather and tossing my gloves to Laura mid-race.

Then, in February, I ran one mile and three mile races on a frozen lake at Yukon Days, my first races on top of ice.

In May, I ran my first Boston qualifying time at the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon near St. Cloud, Minn.

My first pacer duty was at the Minneapolis Half Marathon in June, which set off my pacing "career."

2011
I ran twenty races in 2011 in races ranging from one mile to 50K.

I kicked off my 2011 racing season with the Yukon Days Races. I managed to win the six mile snowshoe race and then dropped the three mile shoe race due to some IT band pain.

April of 2011 was a big highlight of my racing career: The Boston Marathon. Not only was it an amazing and memorable experience, it was also a trip where we packed in tons of sightseeing and activities.

Just eleven days after the Boston Marathon, I paced at the Brainerd Jaycees Run for the Lakes Marathon. I went up to Brainerd with a few running friends, and we had a blast in a chilly, rainy race.

Two months later, I ran my third marathon in two months when I paced the 3:15 group on a warm day at the Minneapolis Marathon.

My first 50K in July of 2011 took place at the Afton Alps due to a state government shutdown closing Afton State Park. The course was tough, and it was hot and sunny, and although it was my first 50K, I managed to finish ninth overall.

I had the "pleasure" of running the Ragnar Great River Relay on a ultra team, meaning we each ran around thirty miles in less than twenty-four hours. I also slipped and fell, cutting my arm on a guardrail.

That does it for the first two years of the decade. Stay tuned for 2012 and 2013.