Can I Take a Mulligan?

Last year was a very good year for me from a running perspective. I lowered my PRs on pretty much every racing distance from the 5K up to the marathon. I logged more miles by July than I have ever run before in a year, which was the key to my success. I've always considered myself a runner who wasn't afraid to work, but last year was really the first time I ever actually lived that out.

So now I have to try and avoid the sophomore slump. It's kind of strange that I would be worried about a sophomore slump when I have been running marathons for 9 years now, but that really shows how my thinking has changed. I really feel like last year was the first time that I have ever been compeletely focused and ready for marathon running. Hopefully, I can keep that same focus this year. I may get beat by faster runners this year, but I don't want to be outworked by anyone. I think that is an attainable goal.

So the plan was to start things off when the calendar clicked over to January 1st, but as has been the case lately, life got in the way. On New Years Eve, we brought my 2 year old and 2 month old into the hospital because they both were sick. The two year old was quickly released with a sinus infection diagnosis. The 2 month old wasn't so lucky. He was quickly transferred to another area hospital who was better equipped to handle him. Apparently, he had contracted RSV, which is a respiratory virus that can be pretty tough on a little baby.

Ryan has spent the past week in the hospital and he is slowly improving, with the key word being slowly. RSV is just one of those things that you can't rush the recovery. You have to let the virus run it's course. So that's what we're doing.

My wife has taken the brunt of the hospital duty, with me taking on the role of Mr. Mom, while working from home. It's been stressful and exhausting, but we've been managing. Hopefully, Ryan will be back home by the end of the week and things will soon return to normal. For the first week in January, I was able to log 37 miles, which is well below what I hoped for, but under the circumstances, I'll take it. Now with that first prep week under my belt, I hope to get to the real training. Starting now.