2018 in Review; 2019 Goals

Time to start the annual running review.
(Well, I started this December 31, but it took me 2+ weeks to write this, on and off; 
very late compared to Seth, Leslie, Beth, etc.
Finally it's done:  2,192 words, 2 graphs, 30 pics [Yes, I'm a total stats nerd])

Let me just get it out there that 2018 was not my best running year by any stretch.  This was given the initial drought due to a crazy work project having me work 7 days per week and nights, and then a long non-running period over the summer due to a nerve injury and recovery.  I'm conscious of writing a balanced review instead of spewing negative drivel.  Hmm, so in that light, how I would I classify the running year 2018?

• It was the best of times; it was the worst of times?  No, too cliche, and too dramatic on both extremes.
• The ends justify the means?  No, only one of the two bookends (end of the year) was good; beginning of the year was mired in non-running due to a major work project consuming my time.
• Good things come to those who wait?  Yes, this works for me.  Patience is not really a virtue of mine when it comes to running, but finally, as of this writing, my running is back to where I want it.

Yikes!  What caused the precipitous decline?

Drilling into my 2018 running failures

Per the usual order of year-end review writing, let's jump into the 2018 goals and try not to get too depressed.  Goals copy/pasted verbatim from a year ago, with year-end responses in red:

2018 Goals:

• Mileage:  2,600.  Time to up it again!  Fail.  Not even close.  1,721.
• Marathon:  Run a spring marathon.  Not signed up for any yet, but a repeat at Newport (April) or Providence (May) are both possibilities.  On the other hand, would prefer not to drag marathon training out until May, and it also increase the risk of heat.  Fail.  Never ran a marathon all year.
• Run at least one new trail race.  Success.  Sort of.  Ran the Twilight "Trail" Race in June, although with mud the RD wimped out and removed the single-track sections.
• Run a race that I've never run before (e.g., snowshoe, indoor, mud, etc).  Success.  Ran the BU Mini Meet #3 in December, 3K indoors.
• Left over from 2016:  Document history of one of my favorite and most frequented running areas:  Woody Hill.  The WLT has requested that I research and write up the history on Wahaneeta, which I'll do but include adjacent Woody Hill and Sunnyacres Preserve.  Fail.  I do want to do this at some point, and was just asked by the WLT for an update, so I'll put it on yet again for 2019.  Will it be three strikes and you're out, or the third time is the charm?
• Go on night headlamp group runs.  Pass, unless I focus literally on the single versus plural "runs".  Ran a cool headlamp run with Chris, Jonny, and Jonathan in the snow in late January.
• Run at least two of the USATF-NE mountain circuit races.  Sure, I'd like to run all 8, but let's start with something more practical.  Fail.  Ran zero.  Signed up for Loon, but was injured.
• Frequent big chain coffee shops less and independent coffee shops more.  Success.  A trio of us at work walk several times per week to Wakin' Up Waggin'.  I made a lot of visits in 2018 to Dave's Coffee.  I also really enjoy The Bakery in Charlestown and Fresh Grounds in Richmond.  The former pairs well with beach runs in Charlestown, and I think Chris turned me on to the latter on a bike ride a few years back.
• Go camping at least one night.  I miss it.  Success.  Camped six nights in 2018!  Four nights in Maine, and two in NH.

Pretty poor goal success rate at only 50%, but it is what it is.  Next, on a more upbeat note:

Monthly pictorial highlights of 2018:

January:  running in snowstorms, usually with my friend Tommy, is always a winter highlight for me!

February:  Old Mountain Field 5K - my favorite of the Galoob winter trail series.
With no schedule as of this writing, is this series really going to happen in 2019?

March:  more fun with Tommy in the snow!

April:  Clamdigger!  Chilly, windy race.  Very slow 5K time of 19:22,
which somehow won the race (the faster guys were running the 5-Miler).
On a sad note, this race would be the last time that I would see friend Steve Bousquet.

May:  no races or major running fun this month;
proud to be part of Matthew's signing of National Letter of Intent
to run for University of New Hampshire

June:  Back Road Ramble - fun time with my WTAC comrades

July:  my 16th annual Blessing of the Fleet
Pretty embarrassing time on the clock, but after a long injury,
I was just happy to be out there and finally able to run at all.
(This race was all about Matthew, with his blazing 55:30 finish)

August:  Mt Katahdin, crossing one off the bucket list.
My longest hike ever.  Remote and worth it.

September:  My 16th consecutive run at the
Charlie Stavros Memorial On the Beach Run.
I always have so much fun at this race.

October:  Run for the Pumpkins 8K,
my favorite of the WTAC Fall Trail Series
(probably because of the varied, hilly terrain and 0% asphalt)

November:  it was a wet and wild ride at Li'l Rhody this year,
amidst the wettest fall in my memory.
(Yes, this is the course!)

December:  Christmas 10K in Newport,
where I ran my second fastest ever 10K in 36:38!
I'm feeling that I'm back and ready to tackle 2019!

Other memorable moments:

Of course I continued another year of blood and gore on trail runs.
This carnage was after I cleaned up the wound at home after a nasty
fall at Brrr-lingame trail race, but before going to Urgent Care
to get this thing properly cleaned of sand and debris.
Painful.  I'm such a clod.

Proud to be part of the team that rebuilt the Bradford Preserve bridge
(on the Pumpkins and XC courses) as part of Matthew's senior project

Camping and fires!  (This is in Baxter State Park, Maine)
So happy to return to camping.

It's Brady!!  This pic is while running the trails with him at Bluff Point State Park, CT.
Mark's dog came to visit us for four weeks at Christmas time.  (Mark came as well.)
He really brought so much fun and laughter into our lives each and every day.
I was previously ambivalent about dogs, and now concur with several comments on Strava
and this blog that maybe it would be beneficial to get a similar
canine companion and running friend.
Time will tell ...

Housing woes:

My 2018 woes and worries were not limited to running alone -
May 2018:  Scattered clues that we needed some exterior house remediation included:
small rot sections such as this,  

broken wood clapboards at their joints,

and cracked, split, and warped clapboards.

However, we thought these were small, localized areas that would be minor repair work.  Unfortunately, as the contractors started to "peel back the onion":

June:  After seeing many areas of exterior damage,
the plan and contract that we arrived at was to remove and
replace all of the clapboard and old tar paper,
and replace with new "Typar" and new wood clapboard

However, every time the contractor uncovered
rot or mold on the underlying cheap particle board,
work stopped, and that had to be removed,
and replaced with solid plywood

... unless of course, even the beams behind the particle board
were also rotted and moldy, in which case those
and even the sheetrock (internal wall) that you see here
had to be removed and replaced.
Yeah, pretty disgusting.  We had no idea this was lurking behind
our walls.
----------------
Ugh.  Definitely a stressful and very expensive time,
as each finding of rot or mold added days and thousands
of dollars to the project.

In the worst cases (such as the picture above this one with rotted mold-infested
beams), that meant the entire exterior and interior wall had to be completely 
torn down and rebuilt.  (Here we're looking from our family room
directly into the backyard; obviously rain days caused further delays)

Sometimes I'd wonder if we'd ever make progress
and stop the wallet drain, but eventually things
started to be rebuilt and replaced, and with
better craftsmanship and better materials.
(Note original cheap particle board on left, and
new "CDX" plywood replacement on right)

The new Typar weather barrier went up, and is supposed to be much better
at keeping air and water out than the original tar paper that was on the house
from when it was built in the 1990s.
---------------------
(Not sure if my analogy is right, but I'm thinking cotton running clothes from
the 90s as compared to wicking technical running clothes today)

We found the deck to be partially rotted as well,
but had to draw the line somewhere, so we had
the contractor "patch" it for now and we put it onto
the 2019 replacement project list for a new deck/patio.

Finally, it was great to see "real" progress when all new flashing,
window and door trim, and pine clapboards (pre-primed) were installed.
By the time we got to this stage, my stress levels went down a bit,
as we knew we had at least reached the end of the project delays and cost overruns.

My neighbor came over to tell me he really liked
my new "lawn ornament" and that we might
wake up one morning to find the door open
with him sitting there with nothing but a
newspaper in his hands.  Thanks, Mike.
-------------------
I told him if there was enough money left over
after this project, we might just spring for indoor plumbing.

The project started in early June, and by late July,
all of the carpentry work had been done and the site was cleaned up.
All that remained was for the painting crew to put on two coats.

And by early September, the painters were done.
African Gray is the new color.
What a relief to have this behind us.

Now onto 2018 stats:

• Races run:  25 (2017: 22, 2016: 29, 2015:  36)
• Race breakdown by terrain:  Road - 12, Trail - 11, Beach - 1, Tri - 0, Indoor Track - 1
• Age group wins:  14
• Miles run:  1,721 - lowest since I started tracking in 2012
• Elevation run:  121,509' 
• Most elevation gain in a single run:  1,647' (yeah, pretty pathetic.  This was on a run in Yawgoog)
• Hours run:  246 (2017:  360)
• Days run:  240 (2017:  315)  Yeah, that's pretty bad.
• Lowest mileage week:  0 (injured in early July)
• Highest mileage week:  77 (final week of December, finished the year strong)
• Highest mileage day:  18 (long run in late December)
• Highest mileage run:  18 (ditto)
• Longest running streak:  21 days (again, late December)
• Longest non-running streak: 12 days (long forced break in early July due to injury; many walks)
• Number of tickborne diseases:  0 (only possible benefit from my July injury, as I had 1 in 2017, and 3 in 2016)
• Number of segment CRs:  7 (only four retained by year-end)
• Number of states run in:  8:  RI, CT, MA, NH, ME, NJ, VA, NC (down from 15 previous year; this was the first time in 4 years that I didn't run in all New England states)
• Number of countries run in:  1 (Guess which one?)
• Run furthest from home:  Greensboro, NC

And, finally, some 2019 goals:

• Mileage:  2,600.  Same goal that I failed miserably in 2018.  Let's hope I keep injury at bay.  
• Marathon:  Run a spring marathon.  Again, a failed leftover from 2018.  
• Run at least one new trail race.  
• Left over from 2016 and 2017:  Document history of one of my favorite and most frequented running areas:  Woody Hill.  The WLT has requested that I research and write up the history on Wahaneeta and Woody Hill.
• Become a mountain goat, by running at least six of the eight USATF-NE mountain circuit races.  Definitely a stretch goal and super aggressive, especially as last year I failed to run any, but again this is contingent on staying injury free, which I couldn't do in 2018.  
• Run in every New England state.
• More dog runs (besides those I already ran with Brady in early January).
• Run a warm-up, cool-down, or other non-race run with someone I've never run with before.
• PR in any distance I've already run.  Now, what makes me think I can possibly PR in my advanced age, especially given I haven't had a PR since 2015?  The fact that in 2018, I ran just 16 seconds off my 10K PR.  I would say my 4M, 5M, and 10K are all possibilities, albeit a bit remote.  This is why we have goals; to give something to shoot for!

And that's a wrap!  Looking forward to a much more successful year in 2019, and continued fun with running friends and frenemies alike.