Rose Bowl thoughts and running goals

For starters, it was not a good weekend to be a Badger fan.

That Rose Bowl loss to TCU? Painful. But I have to admit, TCU was a very good team, much better than I anticipated. Had it not been for a few mistakes by the Badgers and one very lucky in the right place at the right time play by a TCU defender, it could have been a different story. But it wasn't to be this year. Sigh.

But the most heartbreaking? Watching J.J. Watt at the post-game press conference. Seriously. Defensive linemen who are 6-6 and weigh almost 300 pounds? They're not supposed to break down and cry. But he did. He's the heart and soul of this Badger team - giving up a scholarship at Central Michigan to come to UW as a walk on and develop into the type of player he is - and to see him so emotional on the podium? Heartbreaking. And I'll admit, I'm crossing my fingers this week he decides to come back for his senior year. Check out this video around the 2:10 mark to see Watt break down.

And let's not talk about the UW basketball team who shot 35 percent from the field in a loss at Illinois. Ugh. Let's just say if it hadn't been for the Packers pulling out a victory Sunday night it would not have been a very good weekend in Wisconsin sports.

But moving on.

Let's talk running for a moment.

I finished 2010 with 590.3 miles. Yup. I didn't make it to the gym Friday morning to attempt the final 9.7 miles I needed to hit 600 miles for the year. I woke up in the morning and my legs were like bricks. They were screaming at me. So I opted not to run. But I'm happy with my mileage for the year. It's my highest total yet by almost 300 miles. So I'll take it.

But now I've got to set a goal for 2011. Right now I'm leaning towards 1,000 miles. It's a nice number, don't you think? Yes. It will be a lot of work. And there will be days when I'll be tempted to slack and not run. But I think I can do it. I look at 2010 and see that I really slacked during the summer months. I can't do that this year. I won't do that this year.

Right now, on Jan. 3, 2011, I have a few running goals for the year:

• Run 1,000 miles
• Break 2 hours, 30 minutes in the half marathon
• Run a sub-30 5K
• Try one new race distance
• And check off another 3 half marathons

A do-able list I think. After taking the first two days of the new year off, I logged my first run of the year tonight. I was expecting a ton of people at the YMCA but was pleasantly surprised when I got there. Yes, there were more people than usual, but I didn't have to wait for a treadmill. I got in a speedy (for me) 4.25 miles before tacking on a short cool down (0.1 miles) and calling it a night.

Only 995.65 miles to go.

*******

And I leave you with some words from Watt.

"The Wisconsin Badgers will be back to the Rose Bowl. ... "No doubt about it the Badgers will be back and they'll be better than ever. And when they come back, they'll win."