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Wow it’s been an insane month! I nearly died a month ago today, and I’m still feeling the repercussions of that crash. My health has been a roller coaster. Some days I feel somewhat alive, others… yeah, not so much. I’ve kept running though, very slowly, but running all the same. As important as my physical health is, mental health is equally important. And running is critical to my mental health. So slowly, often very slowly I’ve been getting out there and putting one foot in front of the other. Most days that time was when I felt best. The majority of the rest of the day was spend in bed wishing I had the health to live life to the fullest

I had another great weekend planned with two potentially great races. First was the XTERRA Virginia Key 10K, then off to visit with my grandparents for the Naples Daily News Half Marathon. Neither went as planned. It took significantly longer for me to get to Virginia Key on Saturday morning. Miami Dade transit isn’t exactly an efficient means of travel. I really wish I had a bike to ride these days…

Anyway, I did eventually make it to the race (on time) and again due to my health had to consciously hold back. No ‘racing’, just running easy. Thankfully it was a very small race so I still had a shot of winning my age group. On a typical day I had no doubt I could run away with the overall here, but this was certainly not a typical day. Between holding back, and a little bit of a trail marking snafu I ended up near the back of the pack. I finished 10th – out of 12! I still won the age group since I was literally the only one in it! The trails were fun to run, quite interesting actually, as there were some obstacles in place for mountain bikes which provided a little bit of a challenge in a few places and certainly made for some abnormal terrain. Alls well that ends well, right? It was no where near my ideal time, but I still enjoyed myself (and managed to keep alive the shot at one XTERRA age group title)

Next, it was off to Naples. Or not… those county busses didn’t exactly get me where I needed to be in time to catch my Greyhound. So I spent the afternoon trying (and failing) to find a ride to Naples. This had been another race I really looked forward to. It’s a fast course. Originally I had been targeting a PR (and Boston [6:17/mi] pace). Now I was just going to run it for fun: just relax and enjoy the race atmosphere while hopefully finishing in sub 1:35/1:40 still. Plus it was a great excuse to visit with family. Well that clearly didn’t happen. I never made it to Naples… and the race never went off! Apparently, some downed power lines and storm debris forced them to cancel it that morning. So, I didn’t feel too bad about missing my ride out there, but I was still frustrated that the run never happened. So I just went for a run on South Beach instead

Unpredictable, chaotic and a total roller coaster ride: Yeah, thats life! Live it up, cause you never know what its going to throw at you next

I saw these videos the other day, and immediately thought of the resolutions I had set this year. One of my major goals is to enjoy nature more, not just get outside. I’m outside all the time. Biking to work (and trying not to get run over), walking or biking to run errands, etc. But there is a difference between being outside surrounded by steel and concrete, and being one with nature. The later is much more enjoyable

As I reflected on the two previous years, and the things that have made me happy recently (often despite some pretty crazy circumstances), it became pretty obvious. I rediscovered the love of running in Romania – running the Black Sea coast, the hills and forests of Transylvania, parks in Bucuresti, various countrysides and the shores of the Danube Delta. Then I came home and kept that going along the beach with Raven. Last year I had some pretty epic runs discovering caves in Bermuda, along Baltic Beaches at sunset and various other places. I ran my first couple trail races – and loved them. Running used to be my time to connect with myself, but this opened up a whole new world. Now when I run body and mind become one – with the world, not just with themselves. I get lost in the beauty of nature, and every step immerses me further

So I set goals with that in mind: To explore some of the national parks here at home in the US. So far I’ve only ever been to Everglades, and that very briefly. To go camping, to run more trails. To travel more for natural adventure and less for cities. To race more off-road. I even set the ambitious goal of winning my age group in TWO different XTERRA regions! FL would require a couple Tampa trips, and AZ is loaded with parks and natural splendor. This would be an fantastic year

Well, before it even started these goals all took a significant hit. A painful and nearly fatal hit. That mini cooper that hit me on Dec 17th did a whole lot more damage than I originally thought. I didn’t remember hitting my head, but when the headaches hadn’t gone away weeks later, I decided to take a look at my bike helmet. Sure enough: it was cracked right in the front, near where I had a small scratch on my face. Obviously I had hit my head, and blacked out briefly (long enough to not remember hitting my head). Obviously head trauma (and resulting concussion) was a significant result of this crash. Hopefully one that would eventually heal completely

I had been considering a couple races that first weekend of the year, but these were now no longer an option. Also at risk was my first planned trip (and milestone for that XTERRA goal). January 10 – XTERRA White Tanks 20K. I had been quite excited for this trip. Now it was questionable

In the end, I felt good enough (barely) to fly to AZ. I had to give myself conscious permission to not start the race, or not finish, if my body indicated that was appropriate. I also had to force myself to ease up, and not push too hard. I’m competitive when I race – that totally sucked! Knowing that I could, and normally would, be pushing harder and running faster… yet for reasons outside of my control having to tame myself… it put a major damper on the race. I still placed third in my age group, but unfortunately based on XTERRA scoring rules that eliminated me from contention for the AG regional title. I’m still glad I went (and likely will still go back for the series finale in March [health permitting]), but just like that one of my goals for the year was shot

I also had to ease up on everything else during the trip. Normally when I travel, I move at 1,000 miles a minute. Trying to fit in everything possible in. This time my agenda was sleep and rest as much as possible. So thank you to my host Tomer for putting up with that. Next time I’m out in AZ I’ll have to make up for lost time – and there most certainly will be a next time. Running those trails in Arizona was an incredible experience and was certainly a mental and emotional boost at a critical time. I can’t wait to go back and do it again when my health allows me to truly enjoy it

So take a moment and consider if Nature is right for you as well

Wow, what an adventure this past year has been!

While it both started and ended on very sour notes, overall I’d say it was an incredible year. I missed the first race I had planned to run (an early January 10K) due to ridiculous circumstances. Worse yet, that left me with a shoulder injury that slowed me down for the rest of the year (and still isn’t 100%)

Just when I was starting to think about finally working on upper body strength again… boom. Mini Cooper. Yes, that’s right a Mini Cooper. One that was flying down the road and rammed me from behind, then just kept going. Depending on your definition (I’m taking the glass half full approach here), I’m OK: I’m alive (statistically speaking I don’t think I should be). I can still run. I did unfortunately suffer some pretty significant financial losses and injuries (two weeks later and the headaches still won’t go away, among other things). It messed up my holiday travel plans and nixed my last two races of the year: a one mile open water swim and a 5K. And I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to do my next race in 10 days. But I digress. I can still run

As I said previously, this was a good year. Life is what you make it; what you dwell on. I chose to have a good year, and so despite several curve balls, it was exactly that. I ran, I was (and remain) extremely happy. This past year I focused on being happy, on enjoying myself every step of the way, being on top of the mental game. It’s amazing just how much the physical aspect falls in line after that, and so there were lot’s of fitness milestones this year:

• For the first time ever, I ran over 2500 miles for the year (2634 to be exact, which is just enough distance to cover Miami to the west coast). I also easily covered 1,000,000 meters during the summer. That’s the first time I did that since high school. Hey Now PREP! I think its safe to say I have my base back

• Of that mileage over 500 of it was barefoot on the beach. As far as I’m concerned barefoot beach running is the meaning of life. There will be a lot more of that in the upcoming years for sure

• I completed over a hundred runs with the legendary Raven this year (and 50 swims too). This was enough to earn me his “Swimmer of the Year” award

• Despite my continuing shoulder issues, I took to the water as well this summer. I did the ‘Bandit Kick’ for 20 miles since then. Yes, the Bandit Kick… I lay on my back and just keep kicking until I get where I want to go. Slow, but consistent progress. I wasn’t going to let some stupid injury get in the way of my goals

• I completed my first triathlon. Three actually, all about olympic distance. The first was actually an XTERRA off-road triathlon, and thus my first time (ever) mountain biking as well. I’m the last one out of the water, but, hey, I finish. That’s what counts

• Speaking of races, I completed my first (five actually) international races. January in Bermuda (1 mile, 10K and half marathon), and then in August half marathons in Latvia and Estonia. Overall, my running this year covered 11 states (racing in 10) and 13 different countries

• I’ve run in quite a few races this year, often placing in my age group and occasionally overall. I earned my first 5K, 10K and half marathon wins* and set PRs in every distance I raced (I still need a 5 miler and I know that if I actually raced a marathon I could blow away my first ever (and PR) of 3:23:32 from back in 2000). Notably, I finally beat that half marathon PR I set in the summer of ’98 – In Tartu, Estonia two days after my 35th birthday

• Most importantly, I had fun! 16 months ago I rediscovered the joy of running as I explored Romania, and for that reason alone this has been a good year. My heart, mind and soul lead the way on this journey and my body has learned to love going along for the ride. I am, and always will be, a runner

2016, I’m ready

Eventually I’ll get a blog going regularly.  In the meantime, you can read about my Boston 2013 experience here