2012 - Figuring It Out

There are a lot of Charlotte running topics I could have selected to end the year on but the one that stuck out to me as a theme for 2012 is Figuring It Out.  What exactly do I mean by that?  The phrases takes on a few forms for me.

1) Our Charlotte Running Club board in 2012 started to click in year 3 with business as usual.  We were able to get additional technology in place, assign some rotating responsibilities to better share the workload and we started to look towards bigger objectives.  We brought on 4 new members to the board who appear like they will be active leaders.  We added new officers to the club. We figured out how to make the club sustainable and find a balance that supports the board members in leading but still leaving time for their day jobs, family and their running.

2) Several male and female runners discovered just how good they can be.  The ones I know of consistently trained with a group and then saw the results in races.  They realized they were just as good and in some cases better than the folks they training with which provided them with the confidence to push the boundaries even further.  I look forward to a couple of these folks having a phenomenal 2013.  The Figured out they can run and compete with the big dogs.

3) Another set of runners in Charlotte experienced injury set backs or family changes that altered their running routine.  It forced several of them to re-evaluate priorities and work thru a better model of running/family/job balance.  As a result, most all of them have a template that is much more sustainable for ongoing enjoyment of the sport and will be able to share in the challenges and fun of running in the upcoming years because they figured out how to make time for running in their life.

4) On a personal note I figured out two things in 2012:
a) I did more self experimenting as a runner on my own training to understand first hand how the body will reacted.  While each runner handles physical and mental demands slightly different, I think going thru the training myself ultimately makes me a better coach which is part of my running transition plan from chasing personal in races to helping others achieve their racing goals.
b)  I realized over  the last half of 2012 that father time is finally setting in.  Even as recent as this Spring I was running some life time PRs however, quickly my body is changing.  I need to be aware and monitor my training closer.  The training I did years ago is probably not realistic for me.  PRs are probably just about out of touch and as a result, I need to strive for ways to stay motivated to compete.  I love to compete so it really is just a matter of re-adjusting my expectations about what I can accomplish these days.  So I have figured out my body is slipping but I have some more exploring to get the formula right in 2013.

Thank you to all of you I ran with in 2012 and supported not only the club by me personally in my running adventures.  It was another memorable year and I look forward to a wonderful 2013.