Winter officially began last week. This week, we turn the final page on the 2006 calendars.

This is the traditional time to reflect on the past and plan for a new and better year. For runners, it's the ideal time to review this year's running performances with an eye to improving next year's training and racing.

Curl up in front of the fireplace with a hot chocolate and your running log. (That may be more difficult if you keep a computer log.) Read it as you would a biography or an adventure novel. This is the story of your life as a runner.

If you've written a detailed accounting of your runs, it makes for interesting reading. If your log is like mine, a few sheets of paper with check marks beside completed workouts, several calendars with a month or so filled in and ragged copies of running guide schedules, you'll have to piece together the year's running like assembling clues in a mystery novel.

Either way, the purpose in looking back is not entertainment but education. You can't change the past, but you can use it to plan for the future before it disappears into the fog of memory.

Any good novel has a theme, an idea that justifies the words. Before you dig into the day-to-day details of your running log, look at the theme of your running life. Why do you run?

The focus of last year's running may have been losing five pounds or qualifying for Boston. Do you want those same goals for the coming year or is it time to begin writing a new story?

After the theme, delve into the plot of your life story, the ups and downs, successes and failures, twists and turns that made last year's running what it was. Mark the high points in your running year that made you feel glad to be a runner: crossing the finish line of your first marathon or first race, stepping on the scale at goal weight or cresting a hill on your favorite trail route. Those are the things you want to repeat in the coming year.

Face, but don't dwell on, past failures. Some people ignore the negatives while others seem to re-live them. Unpleasant as it might be, taking a realistic look at last year's low points may prevent you from making the same mistakes in 2007.

If you were plagued by injury last year, it's especially important to find out how to heal and to avoid repeating that painful experience. Even if it means racing fewer races, running fewer miles at lower intensity or building more rest or crosstraining days into your program, that's better than staring at blank pages on your running calendar for weeks or months of rehab while friends trot down the road without you.

Injury prevention could be as simple as trading in your old running shoes a month earlier or adding strength training to your exercise plan. If you are chronically injured, it might be time to take your story to a medical expert.

Nothing is as bad or as good as it appears. If you dropped out or finished poorly in a major race, lost track of your training plan or quit last year's exercise program altogether, face it and get over it.

Taking a realistic look at your failures helps put them to rest once and for all. If you ran poorly on hilly courses or through the entire month of July, maybe you need to modify your training plan to include more hill work or to eliminate hot summer races.

You've only got a few more days to wrap up the story of 2006 before you open a new book. Your 2007 running log might read like a romance novel, mystery or medical journal, but whatever your style, writing about running is much more interesting than blank pages.

Upcoming eventsSaturday, 8 a.m.: Up-N-Running group run, Valencia. 724-898-2525 or www.runpa.comJan, 6, 9:30 8 a.m.: Resolution Run, New Castle. Choice of 10K or 5K distances. 724-658-3583, ext. 8111 or lheasley@lcvt.tec.pa.usFeb. 17: Climb Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh. Inaugural 45-floor stair climb to benefit American Lung Association. 724-933-6180 or www.lunginfo.org

Race results:

Jingle Bell 5K, Dec. 2: Charlie Ban, 1st Overall M, 16:49; Veronica Kirish, 1st Overall W, 21:59; Cory Steinhagen, 1st 13-18 M, 18:11; Mark Courtney, 1st 50-54 M, 18:31; Michael Fugate, 2nd 13-18 M, 19:15; David Fugate, 1st 45-49 M, 20:12; Chris Matessa, 3rd 13-18 M, 20:27; Jeff Yingling, 3rd 50-54 M, 22:03; Silvio Andreassi, 2nd 30-34 M, 22:32; Sharyl Relic, 2nd 45-49 W, 22:32; Dorothy Moxie, 1st 40-44 W, 23:37; Kathy Kelly, 1st 50-54 W, 24:44; Brenda Nigh, 2nd 40-44 W, 25:37; Ann Cheman, 3rd 55-59 W, 26:23; Heather Cianfrocco, 2nd 30-34 W, 27:12; Robert Sands, 2nd 60 and over M, 27:57; Val Sands, 1st 60 and over W, 31:10; Marcia Semple, 3rd 60 and over W, 41:30;Bruce Barnes, 22:03; Ron Hartle, 23:21; Lance Casler, 24:07; Robert Hunt, 24:42; Bill Trag, 25:18; Ron Nyman, 25:23; Dennis Acon, 25:49; Mary Morgan, 25:56; Jessica Brumbach, 26:15; Peggy Callahan, 27:05; Larry Payne, 27:40; Nicole Hardt, 27:45; Debb Muzzonigro, 27:57; Craig Rogers, 28:18; Jennifer Richie, 28:19; Debbie Fugate, 28:20; Nathaniel Mornault, 28:34; Michael Mornault, 28:41; Ashley Henry, 29:05; Amanda Hardt, 29:34; Kim Kenetz, 30:00; Mary Beth Green, 30:11; Lanagie Mensup, 30:13; Carrie Deutsch, 30:34Jane Lehmann, 30:58; T.J. Muzzonigro, 31:16; Andrew Hughes, 31:27; Jessica Rack, 31:28; Jill Payne, 32:20; Laurie Volpe, 32:20; Sue Fink, 32:26; Al Lane, 34:05; Susan Hardt, 34:13; Kelly Neff, 36:46; Patrick Grunden, 39:12; Rita Lane, 39:24; Tom Deutsch, 49:43; Cassandra Smiley, 50:25; Adeline Smiley, 50:27; Donna Huck, 53:15; Lisa Chelpanoff, 53:31; Andy Deutsch, 54:59; Sarah Mowry, 55:06; Robert Mowry, 55:07; Maggie Rogers, 55:24Send comments and suggestions to: 435 Cherry Valley Rd., Saxonburg, Pa. 16056. Phone or fax: 724-352-4395. Email: bigp16@connecttime.net