What do I make of 2010? The year began with a long discussion I had with myself about the marathon, and that issue never fully receded. Though I didn’t race particularly well and may have to recalibrate things, I enjoyed it. Even my too-frequent grinding and no-way (defined as runs about which early on there’s no way I’ll be able to finish but then somehow pull it off) runs are remembered fondly because each was a run. Except maybe the treadmill stuff. I have no idea how many miles I ran for the year.

Racewise, I struggled in many but enjoyed them all except for the Father’s Day 5 Miler. In particular, Josh Billings was very tough but worth the trip and something I hope/expect to improve on in 2011. I really enjoyed the Sleepy Hollow 10K, even if it was a hard tempo run, because it made me feel like a solid racer, getting stronger as the race went on, a feeling I also had at the NYC HM and at the year’s final race, the Kleinerman 10K.

Facebook had this application that went through all of my posts there and came up with a random group, and one of those random posts was that I had to find a worse class of friends and I smiled when I recalled that one. It was summer and it was hot. I was pleased with myself for slogging through 7 miles. Only to come upon all of these others who had done 9 and 12 and other numbers that were beyond my comprehension.

I fully enjoyed getting this and other glimpses into others’ adventures, and struggles, and successes. Even (especially?) that wacko group that somehow made it home from Vermont after missing the proper exit by like 120 miles. (“Where are we?” “I don’t know.” “Are people speaking French?” “No.” “We should still be OK then.”)

Jaymee’s wonderful adventure in Chicago, and her discussion of the mental aspect of what we do. Robert “Phoenix” Reese jettisoning an ultra obsession and realizing that 26 miles and 385 yards could be fun and fulfilling. And his fellow warhorse Herb realizing that with a break here and a break there he can go sub-3. Alex racing in a tunnel and also neglecting to raise her sunglasses for her Boston money-shot. Julie’s adventures in injurydom and Flo wrestling with some of the same stuff that I’ve been. And Flo and Brandon (with whom I had somewhat made up by year’s end) encountering quite troubling and still inexplicable medical issues during races, and neither of them being cowed by them.

There was TK making it to London after the miss in 2009 and then taking a more dramatic trip later in the year. Speaking of feet pointing north, we had Ewen deciding he would channel Pre and focus on racing a solid 5K. I met Wolve at the Bronxville 2.5 miler and Amy at Van Cortlandt (and for the record I did get a muffin in that race at least), and even my charm has not dissuaded the latter from focusing on triathlons in 2011. Speaking of Tris, it was good to see my former clubmate Dave ratchet his mindset up and decide, “yeah, I can be good.” I also got to meet the rather quick Helen at Van Cortlandt (and would meet her again during the NYCM) and had the pleasure of running the 2 X 2 Relay there with Ari, who had quite a fine year himself. I admit to only recently listening to Brenn’s disappointing (the race, not the show) NYC M and it’s good to hear him doing his essays. And on the year’s penultimate day, Michelle got her M.

Sharing these adventures has been a highlight in itself.

Many of the foregoing have revived The New York Running Show (Brandon suggested using “show” instead of “podcast”) and I don’t know how that’ll go, but it’s fun to just BS with fellow local runners even if, sadly, we tend to agree about almost everything. But the show would not be but for Steve and his valiant efforts with NYCRuns, which I hope can further bring the community together.

My favorite non-running running development was seeing Julie’s interviews with and stories about pros (KK) and with Houston Hopefuls. My favorite post of the year by someone was this sappy, heartfelt effort.

I did get myself into a bit of hot water by disparaging the “13.1 Marathon,” which was, of course, a half-marathon. I’m happy to say, though, that 2011’s version has lost all references (except in the webpage URL) to “marathon.” If my mocking played a role, however small, in this change, I’m happy. It now stands as a solid non-NYRR race, with the expectation of it fixing some of the course issues (misdirections) will be taken care of. Much as she irked me, frequent critic/commentator CG deserves recognition for her willingness to tell me she thought I was wrong, and worse.

The late-in-the-year appearance of the New York Running Society was a nice addition to our running community here in New York, a community, we must all admit, already had quite a lot to offer.

I was finally able to get people to come up to the Rockies for a run in October. I hope we get more going forward. They’re something I’m proud to share with others.

Although I did not score except once for the 50+ team and did not get into the City for as many workouts as I would have liked, I enjoyed the spirit of my Warren Street teammates, capped by the post-Joe K breakfast and a party at Paul’s in Peekskill. I hope, with Jim, John, and a healthy Jonathan, that we can make some noise in 2011 in that 50+ age-group.

Lastly, I’ve committed to working with a coach. It’s early days yet, but I think she’ll provide the focus I need to improve my productivity in the coming year. We’ll see.