Monday, December 27, 2010

end of the year number obsession

I will admit that I'm obsessed with numbers. This is why I run with a Garmin. And why I don't ever turn it off at stoplights because discovering a half a mile later that I forgot to turn it back on when the light turned green is disasterous for me. I should look into help, I know. My number obsession is also why I will run circles in the parking lot just to hit an even 7 miles for a run if I have to. Sure, 6.87 miles would be good enough, but I want that even number. I've noticed other runners in my group doing the same. It's a bit neurotic but that's what makes running (and runners!) so much fun.

I log all my runs -- from the 3 miles with the dogs to the 20+ miles during marathon training. All the numbers are accurately recorded and tallied by the year. It is why I can tell you 2007 was a bad running year for me due to my second pregnancy (only 168 miles total that year!). And why I can also say that this year, 2010, was my highest running year to date (going over 1200 -- whoo hoo!). I know because I have been logging all my runs since 2005 when I really started to care about seeing some improvement.

I also keep a spreadsheet of my races. I'm not ever going to win a race (or even come remotely close!) but I like to see how I've improved and what my previous times were for every distance I've raced. I can tell you with pinpoint accuracy what I ran at specific races, what those race distances were and the year.

All of this is why I love the end of the year. It's a time to reflect on what my running has been this year and where I want it to go in the coming year. I'm excited by improvement I've seen this year, some great running friends and where I see myself going in 2011. As always, I'm planning on faster miles and more total miles run, but also to continue this running journey that I love so much. I've learned a lot about myself this year and can't wait to see what happens in 2011.

What about you? Have I just described your number obsession, too?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

what do you use to keep track of your runs?? Paper and pencil, some sort of spreadsheet, or dailymile or some other site like that?

cherl said...

A combination of things: a spreadsheet for races, runkeeper for daily runs and I keep a running total on a blog, too. It may sound complicated but it's not. LOVE runkeeper because the distance, pace, date and time are always right where I can get to them quickly. I love seeing what my last efforts at particular distances are when I'm heading out for a run. :)

Kelly(M&M) said...

Cherl- you rock!! I am definitely a numbers girl and love my Garmin. However, my lack of organization keeps me from keeping track! I can tell you all my race times though. :-)

Latter-day Runner said...

I understand the obsession with numbers, and that is one reason why I love running -- it is an individual sport in which you compete with yourself, or rather, with your own numbers. Keeping track of numbers makes it interesting. I love to use runningahead.com. Today I ran an extra 0.2 miles just so I could log an even 450 miles for the year. My goal for 2011 is 1000 miles.