2013...

I must be the last one to do this too. It's going to be yet another case of trying to curb my enthusiasm and not race too much. The half is my favourite, so I'll do 3 and attempt the "triple crown" of getting under 90 minutes in all of them. Plus a couple of other things thrown in. I would perhaps start the season earlier, but A-Chang & I are going on holiday in February. So, my little calendar:

St Patrick's 5k, March 17: how doable is another PB - 19:25?

Calgary Half Marathon, May 26. Completely flat, a big PB is the aim. A sub-1:26 would do nicely.

High River Canada Day Half Marathon, July 1. Stampede road race has a half course with a bit too much gradient. 5 weeks after the above, should be good for another sub-90 as long as it's not too hot.

Lake Chaparral Triathlon, August 11. Yes, a triathlon! The start/ finish is walking distance from my house. I'll do the sprint distance: 750m swim, 20k bike, 5.5k run.

Harvest Half Marathon, September 28. I'll see if I can beat last year's time and current half PB, 1:26:48. Will be my 5th HHM (in a row).

Banff Winterstart, November 2. A 5 miler starting in the early evening, each runner carries a glow stick. This would be a new one for me. A day at the spa the next day would be in order too.

Of course, the year would not be complete without the coda that is the Resolution Run.

A total of 7 events, what restraint...

Resolution Run vid

Here's the vid of the Resolution Run, the bridges look pretty good.

Resolution Run

I have a cold. Boo. I've also been wrestling with getting camera footage to save into one edited down movie. The complex setting on the gopro has taught me some valuable lessons for next time out.

So before 2013 is finished, here's the Resolution Run. 6pm New Year's Eve this time was warmer than the other 2 I've done. It had been -20 over much of Christmas but by race night just -5. 4 weeks post marathon it was a matter of doing my best without running myself into the ground. After all, there is no chip timing, just a clock.

Yes, California International Marathon gloves.

The start signal was from a helicopter again, 2 flashes from its spotlight. Everyone's used to hearing something, so a couple of voices said "go" and I led away and got a head start on the course bike and said "follow me!" I got the jitters for the first corner and slowed quite a bit. The darkest part came soon after in the lead up to the Peace Bridge.

Running on, or rather through it, makes me think of Battlestar Galactica launching fighters.

A plunge back into darkness, then to Centre Street Bridge and a roller coaster underpass.

Across the Langevin Bridge with the leading bike yelling warnings to those in front. We had some bewildered stares. Just wait till you see the next 500+ I thought.

The south side of the river up to Centre Street now has cool blue lighting. Calgary's looking pretty good at night these days.

Under Centre Street Bridge again and feeling out of breath I slowed a little. There's always a great atmosphere at the finish of this race. When I look at the vid, the clock says 19:36 as I cross the line. A-Chang said it had started about 10 seconds late. I didn't use my watch this time, but I think it's safe to call it sub-19:50. 4 weeks after a torrid marathon and turkeyed-up from Christmas, that's quite a surprise.

Next up is training for spring and summer races as soon as I recover and no longer sound like a drag queen when I talk.