The year ahead

I'm home sick again today, but feeling better and should be back to work tomorrow. I always preach to my colleagues that if they're sick they should stay home. No need to be a hero and infect everyone else. I figured I should heed my own advice.

The positive to having this "down time" is that I've been able to reflect on the past year and get a jump on setting goals for 2011. As I've written, one of my goals for this coming year is to qualify for and run the ING New York City Marathon in November. Something that I'm focused on now and is important to me, but after I qualify in mid-January, then what?

Well, with respect to running, my goals are to post PRs for the 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon distances. Ambitious perhaps, but I'm hoping with Ian's experience, direction and motivation, combined with my dedication and consistent training, I'll be able to realize all these running goals.

Since I began running in 2007, golf has taken a backseat to my new passion. However, I'd like to change that in 2011.

Now to be successful or consistent at either sport requires time and commitment. Some might say it would be impossible to adequately "train" for success in both sports simultaneously. Perhaps they're correct, but hey I'm always up for a challenge and proving others wrong.

And, my interest in golf has been renewed recently....the old "absence makes the heart grow fonder" deal I suppose, and the fact that last summer, despite reduced practice and play, my ball-striking was fairly consistent as were my scores. However, there's always room for improvement!

My goals are to dedicate more time to practice (beginning with indoor sessions this winter), increase my play from approximately 35 to 45 rounds this coming summer, lower my scoring average by 2 strokes and finally, enter more tournaments.

So while my goals for golf are perhaps more modest than those I've set for running, I believe they are equally achievable. However, I'll need to manage my time efficiently, because I still have a full-time job and family commitments to consider.

But I figure if Anne can find the time to train for an ironman, I can find time for golf and running. And aren't goals about testing your limits and pushing yourself to achieve something difficult?

So wish me luck and stay tuned!

What was I thinking?

So last night I went out with some friends after work. It was supposed to be an early night - meet at 5:30 for beers, have some dinner, home by 8 or 9 the latest...at least in my mind that was how I had it planned out.

Oh the best laid plans of mice and men....

To explain, these are high school buddies. There's a core group of about 8 of us who have stayed in touch over the years. Our main bond is golf. We played most days during summer vacations throughout our teen years and every two years we go on a week-long golf trip to Florida, that seems to be more fun the older we get.

Two of the group no longer reside in Ottawa. The six who still live in the area, try to meet on a bi-monthly basis for drinks and dinner. Included in this group is my new coach and old friend Ian - who, btw, in reference to my screw up on Tuesday's run, says I'm just stupid and don't need glasses.

Historically we've wrapped things up around 8pm.

However, last night I had invited another high school friend to join us. I ran into Ian (no not my coach) the previous Friday night while out with friends from work. I hadn't seen him in some time and while he wasn't part of the golf group, he knows everyone and I figured it would be a good opportunity to catch up.

Well one thing led to another and I didn't get home until after midnight. I feel like crap today!

Now I could deal with the headache etc if I didn't have shit to do - a 7k run, 4 hours of work on a special project I'm involved at work and a Christmas party at one of Anne's (my girl friend) friend's tonight.

Plus, I feel a cold coming on.

Getting old sucks! Back in the day, I'd be out until the wee hours on a regular basis and always able to meet the call the next day.

Oh well time to suck it up and get moving. Caffeine, Tylenol and Cold FX....the true breakfast of champions!

Wish me luck.





  

TGIF!

Another work week in the books and another day closer to Christmas.

Hard to believe really as it seemed like only yesterday I was on vacation enjoying the warm Ottawa weather, golfing, running, sitting on the deck with my morning coffee - enjoying all these things in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.

Now the local golf courses are closed, covered in a thin layer of snow, cold north winds whipping across their fairways as temperatures have plummeted into the double digits below 0C. And I sit enviously here watching the Shark Shootout golf tournament being televised on the Golf Channel from sunny, warm Naples, Florida.

Except for long and/or easy runs, most of my training these days (and for the next 4 months) take place indoors on a treadmill, because trying to run with speed can be a hazardous proposition between December and March in these parts!

So like many fellow runners and golfers who live north of 49th parallel, I wait. I wait for the ice and snow to recede so I can once again safely run along my favourite pathways and stroll down the fairways of my favourite golf courses.

One day closer to Christmas... and one day closer to spring!

Enjoy your Friday.

 

Living the Dream

Like many golfers I had visions of one day playing on the PGA Tour, competing against the best players in the world, winning golf tournaments and of course reaping the financial benefits.

In other words, living the dream!

Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, and as is the case for most golfers, my dream never became a reality. And as I mentioned in my initial blog post, after 15 years as a golf professional, I moved on and got a real job!

However, something happened Monday that brought back memories of those days long ago when all things golf dominated my life. Kingston's Matt McQuillan beat the odds, making it through all three stages of qualifying school to secure a PGA Tour card for the 2011 season.

A great story really. Not that long ago Matt wasn't playing much competitive golf despite a stellar amateur record and a promising start to his professional career that included a win on the Canadian Tour in 2005 at the Edmonton Open. Instead a lack of funds had relegated the then 27-year-old to playing local events when he wasn't tending bar or delivering pizzas to make ends meet.

Fortunately he was able to keep his skills sharp despite the lack of play and when a new sponsor came forward to back him in 2009, he cobbled together a competitive schedule that included a mix of U.S. mini-tour and Canadian Tour events, culminating in a tie for 16th place in the six-round, pressure-cooker that is the final stage of PGA Tour qualifying.

Now I don't know Matt and I don't profess to be as talented a golfer as he is, but I do have some appreciation for how difficult it is to play golf for a living and to make it to the PGA Tour. In fact, Henry Brunton, a Canadian PGA Master Professional and the Royal Canadian Golf Association's National Golf Coach, in his Master's thesis, explains that the odds of even the most elite amateur golfers advancing to the PGA Tour is very low.

Something akin to winning the lottery really!

So hearing that a 29-year-old from a relatively small town like Kingston can overcome the long odds and make his dream of becoming a PGA Tour golfer a reality...well it makes me wonder if maybe, just maybe...I mean someone has to win the lottery and after all, I have 4 years to work on my game before I'm eligible for the Champions Tour!

So congratulations Matt, all the best next season and thanks for giving a dreamer something to dream about.


For more on Matt http://ow.ly/3lheF 

And to read Henry's thesis http://www.cpga.com/membership/index.aspx?l=0,1,46,54,491

Hello blogging world!

Well I'm no Tiger and I'm sure the blogging community wasn't anxiously awaiting my blogging debut, but here I am...please be gentle!

I'm not really sure how blogs are supposed to work, but I thought I might have some ideas and viewpoints of interest to share with others on two of my favorite things - golfing and running.

First, some background. I'm an ex- golf professional that gave up the golf industry 10 years ago to pursue a new career in the federal government. Strange perhaps, but after 15 years in the golf biz, I was ready for a change and finally found a use for my college journalism diploma. So began my new life in communications for the public service. Over the years I've advanced through the ranks and transitioned from communications to our department's market development branch.

I've continued to golf and have competed as a reinstated amateur in local and provincial tournaments on a part-time basis with mixed success. In 2007, with my interest in golf waining, I found a new passion in running. With the help of a friend (now my girlfriend) who had run a few marathons, I started training for my first marathon. Since then I've run three marathons, including Boston this past April, and a number of half marathons, 10k and 5k races.

In late October, following a few failed attempts to qualify for the 2011 New York City Marathon based on a half marathon time -  1 hour and 30 minutes or less for my age category - I felt as though I had taken my running as far as I could on my own, so I hired a long-time friend and respected local coach to help me get to the next level.

So, in the coming weeks and months I plan to share my journey to NYC and talk some golf until the snow melts and I can get back to fairways.

Enjoy and I look forward to your comments.