
Yesterday was the big day - my half-marathon. The culmination of my 2025 running season. The weather was lousy but the run was pretty good. I struggled at times through much of the second half, but I still managed to set a new personal best by more than 8 minutes. On top of that, I got to spend the day with many of my running friends, which made the whole event even more enjoyable.
This afternoon, while out for my daily walk at lunch (loosening up stiff legs), I took some time to think back over this year and everything that led up to this point. As far as training goes, I started the year out decently. Probably not as consistent as I would have liked, but I also didn't set any kind of proper training plan either, so that's not surprising. When spring rolled around I began looking into actually training for this run, but the follow-through just wasn't there, and I continued to run only when and as much as I felt like.
Leading into summer, I decided it was about time to ramp things up a bit. But it wasn't long before that extra training, and some ill-fitting footwear, led to injury. Bad decisions - not immediately stopping training or seeking medical treatment - led to being sidelined for two full months. That was a huge loss, not just in training time, but also in the fitness level I had spent the first half of the year building. I was supposed to do a half-marathon in September, but I had just gotten back into limited training and didn't want to risk re-injuring myself by rushing into that long of a race. I was set to back out entirely, but a friend convinced me to switch into the 5K event. I intended to take it easy, but somehow ended up with a personal best. And better yet, no new injuries.
Over the past month I tried to get back into the swing of things. More runs. Longer runs. Faster runs. Time spent in the gym. But the conditioning didn't return as well as I hoped, and I came into this weekend feeling like I wasn't quite ready. But ready or not, the day was here and it was time to run.
And now that it's done, it's time to start thinking about next year. I have a lot of things to consider over the coming weeks. Specifically, what is it I want to accomplish? Am I content to maintain the same level of training, run a few half-marathons, and look to make modest improvements over the season? Do I want to get into a more regimented training plan for half-marathons, and strive to break the 2 hour mark? Do I want to start building longer distances beyond 21.1K, and aim to run a full marathon next fall? Right now I simply don't know.
One thing I am sure of, if I want to make any amount of progress with distance running (which I do), I need to spend this winter building a better level of health and fitness. Diet, sleep, exercise, and personal wellness are all areas that I'll need to make improvements in. Fortunately I have resources to help if I need it. My new family health care center has nutritionists and therapists that I can access. My gym has personal trainers. And I'm part of a really wonderful running community, full of people I can learn from.
This season may be winding down, but I'm already looking forward to great things in 2026. =]