Wising Up

I know it's a little too early to look back on the year what with there being still close to one and a half months to the year end and all that but since I'm in a writing mood and nothing better came to mind, just indulge me, ok :D

Looking back I've done close to 15 or so races with two more to come before year end. This was also the year I took the first steps into running a full marathon, something I never thought I would ever attempt and lived to run another day. Running wise, it's been a pretty good year. I achieved all the goals that I set out to accomplish.

The past month or so has been a very hectic time for me. It's been one race after another starting with the PNM. To say I wasn't burnt out by the end of it all is an understatement. Physically and mentally, I was tired, really, really tired. That had me seriously thinking about things. 

Am I taking part in just too many races? Admittedly yes. The moment I see a race event being promoted online, I'm immediately clicking on the link and signing up for it. It doesn't matter if it's a 5K race, a 7K race or even a half marathon, I'm game to take part. 

Nothing really wrong with it. It's mostly fun, you get to meet lots of friends and make new ones but I asked myself what my goal was in wanting to run every single race organized in the Klang Valley. I couldn't come up with an answer. But the truth of the matter was, I didn't have a real goal in mind.

Granted, I had dreams of running a full and I achieved it. Even though it was mostly suffering for the entire 42K, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The joy of crossing the finish was something I can never truly describe. Joy? Happiness? Bliss? Contentment? All of those. That was when I decided I want more of these 42k like suffering. I want to better myself with each marathon I do, if possible.

Which is why I'm taking a totally different approach to running next year. I have a goal, a real one this time. I plan to excel (in my own personal capacity, that is) in the SCKLM next year. I'm planning to put in a lot more training and effort to achieve it. No longer will I be signing up for just about every single run out there. The plan calls for specific races, races that will benefit me in terms of training to achieve my goal. 

I've come to realize that taking part in too many races tends to leave me with no time for a proper training plan. I give my all during races (who doesn't), sometimes just a bit too much and sometimes end up paying for it in the form of injuries. I'm injury prone especially at my age.

I've got two more races for this year and after that I'm taking a step back to fully concentrate on my training for my third marathon at the SCKLM 2013. It's going to be a lot more training than racing. I'm putting a plan together, after taking what I've learned from the two that I've done, that hopefully will see me doing much better this time around for my third attempt.

My motto for next year is 'more quality than quantity' and it's something that I intend to see through. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't be taking the wife for any race that she wants to run even though I'm not running it myself. She's been there for me at races that she doesn't run and you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be there for her.