Posts Tagged ‘goals’

I signed up for the Cleveland Marathon on Friday, which drastically changes my approach to the whole year. I have been indecisive about what to do this spring for a couple of months now – while the Shamrock Half Marathon is my No. 1 priority, I believe that a spring marathon will only enhance my experience in Virginia Beach in March.

With doing some initial planning, the timing is perfect — Shamrock is 9 weeks before Cleveland; this summer I ran the Lynchburg Half Marathon 9 weeks before the Baltimore Marathon. My planned mileage and long runs before Shamrock really don’t change all that much by signing up for the marathon.

I have had a lot of thoughts wrapped up in my head about a spring marathon, and it’s relieving to finally have the chance to get them out. As I hinted yesterday, this hasn’t been an easy decision.

I’ve had an issue in the past month or so in which I have a lot of things on my mind, but they haven’t made their way to my blog.

This past weekend’s race is a perfect example – I signed up a couple of days before Christmas, but it only got a small mention in a post last week. I had a lot of thoughts about doing a trail race and running an event in January, but I just never put those thoughts together.

While some may say it’s no big deal or who cares, it comes down to something I need more of – focus. During last night’s #runchat, Scott and I asked fellow runners what their word for 2012 would be to help achieve their goals. Out of nowhere I came up with “focus.”

I was definitely focused last year, but I’ve lost a lot of that lately. It’s weird to say that, especially after the holiday run streak and ending the year strong, but I feel like I’ve lost something.

So now it’s time to get refocused and do the things I say I’m going to do. Lists of goals and letters to myself sound good, but I have to put those things in action.

I have the Shamrock Half Marathon in 68 days and then something after that a little more than 2 months later. And that “something” is something I have to save for another post …

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In the past couple of weeks, I spent a lot of time reflecting on a great year. Now that the calendar has flipped to a new month and a new year, there’s a feeling of starting something new. The great thing about this year is I don’t have to start over like I did last year.

The Runner’s World Holiday Run Streak — running at least a mile every day from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day — gave me some solid miles and solid runs that makes for an easy transition into training mode. I actually hit day 40 today of consecutive running days, but today was different — the first “official” day of training for the Shamrock Half Marathon.

So with this run, my focus shifts to the year ahead, and here are 12 thoughts for the next 12 months that are on my mind.

1. My “A” goal for the first quarter is a PR in the Shamrock Half Marathon on March 18 in Virginia Beach.  Two winters ago I trained in one of the roughest winters around here in years and still managed to set a PR. This year is looking much better weather-wise (although I would love some snow at some point), and my mind will once again be set on beating my best time, which is 1:42.52.

2. I’m still undecided on whether or not I’ll run a marathon in the spring.

3. I want to get my weight to under 180. I don’t know what it is right now, but my letter to myself the other day is something I’m staying focused on. Weight is just a number, I know, but if I could stop eating stupid, I know that my race times would drop even more.

4. Barring injury, I will pass 5,000 running miles since the beginning of 2007 (I didn’t log miles from 2004-06). I have about 750 to go, so that should happen in late summer/early fall.

5. Speaking of mileage, I will not set an overall mileage goal again this year. It was definitely a great thing to focus on in 2010, but I liked how last year went with my “finish it stronger than I begin it” goal — a little more than 400 in the first half of the year and a little more than 600 in the second half. Right now I just want to run; mileage goals will be secondary whenever I realize I’m close to something.

6. I will buy a new GPS watch sometime this year.

7. It’s weird in January to think of things that will happen 11 months from now. It’s that feeling of that time will never get here. I know it will, so assuming everything goes like I hope, I want to return to the Christmas Classic 5k in Bedford and break 22 minutes.

8. I need to do some bridge training to better prepare myself for the loneliest and most difficult mile of the Richmond Marathon.

9.  I’m going to start riding my bike at least once a week when the weather warms up and I have a little more daylight in the evenings. I fully intend to continue to increase my cross training this year and I want the bike to be a part of it.

10. My sister is running the Monument Avenue 10k at the end of March. I’m not sure how much I had to do with talking her into doing it, but it will be just her second race. I’m really looking forward to her completing it.

11. When May rolls around, I will hit the campaign trail hard for Relay for Life where I will once again run lots of laps for a great cause. My donation page is active now.

12. I have failed to mention it on here, but I am doing the Mountain Junkies’ Frozen Toe 10k this weekend in Roanoke. It will be the first race I’ve ever done in January, but it certainly won’t be a race for time. It’s a trail race around Roanoke Mountain with some generous elevation change. Similar to the Trail Nut 10k last year, I’m looking at this event to gain trail running experience. I think it will be a great way to kick off the year.

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Dear Me,
Remember 8 years ago how you finally made that decision to lose weight? Remember how you looked like this:

In the past 8 years you’ve done a lot — you lost 40 pounds, you have run dozens of races including three marathons, you even like salads.

You know, though, that you’ve been saying for a while you want to lose those “final” 10 pounds. In reality, those “final” 10 pounds consist of several pounds that have been gained or lost over this 8-year span, nagging at you when your jeans get a little tighter.

Remember that drive and determination from the beginning of 2004? The running, the lifting weights, the drastically changed diet — it was truly a new lifestyle. You have done a fairly good job at keeping a lot of those things going, but there are times you let that slip.

But as the calendar changes to another year, there’s no better time than now to recommit, get back to eating much better all of the time, cross train consistently and to make 2012 an even better year than 2011.

Yes, you, it’s time …

Sincerely,
Me

Running 1,000 miles this year was never on my radar, especially after running less than 50 miles in January and even less in February.

Today, as I neared a quarter mile to go to 1,000, I was forced to stop …

I’ve run across these tracks probably a dozen times this year and not once did I encounter a train. It struck me as being pretty funny that I had to wait a couple of minutes to run a little farther before hitting 2.2 miles into my run, marking my 1,000th mile. And, that too, was kind of funny as I hit the mark in front of the church I went to much of my life (Main Street United Methodist Church in Bedford).

My running log from today - miles, shoes and total 2011 miles.

Unlike last year, I hit this mark today healthy and more confident than ever about what’s ahead. In the final couple of weeks of 2011, I’ll do some reflecting on what’s happened in these 1,000+ miles — this has been a special year in so many ways and I’m looking forward to taking some time and reading posts I haven’t visited in a while.

While I reflect, though, I’ll keep running. It’s day 24 of the Runner’s World Holiday Run Streak — I have quite a bit more running to do and some early 2012 goals to start getting serious about.

In these last two weeks I’ll continue to hit milestones I’ve never seen with the most miles ever in a year and my most consecutive running days.

Until then, I’m going to celebrate a bit tonight.

I actually have a lot on my mind these days and a lot I could talk about, but I have one final major goal this year — hitting 1,000 miles.

And now I’m just two runs from hitting that mark. I haven’t talked about it much on here, nor do I make it a main topic of conversation on Twitter — I’m just enjoying running right now and love watching those miles creep closer to quadruple digits.

Until then, there’s nothing else to say …

The math seems so simple — I have 110.7 miles to get to 1,000 miles for 2011. With 60 days left in the year that’s an average of 1.845 miles per day.

The problem, though, is I often hit the end of calendar years with a thud. Four years ago after my first marathon, I was well on my way to hitting quadruple digits, but after my that Richmond Marathon I got sick, I got lazy and I got hurt. Not a good trifecta.

Sure, last year I hit 1,000 miles, but not without 900+ miles of healthy running before getting hurt to make that finish line not seem so far away. And those in between years? I barely crossed 600 miles in both 2008 and 2009 as I battled plantar fasciitis on and off before finally going to the doctor.

Up until now, 2011 hasn’t been about mileage, so putting the 1,000-mile goal out there is hard for me to do. One reason I want to do the 5ks is because the mileage isn’t what’s important — staying healthy, running fast a few more times this year and getting in more quality runs is.

However, getting to 1,000 miles sets me up well for 2012, especially with getting focused on the Shamrock Half. I need the base mileage to keep me strong for whatever else I decide on next year.

Getting there isn’t going to be easy. I don’t want it to be. If it were easy, it would be time for me to move on to something else, but I don’t plan on that happening any time soon.

Image: tungphoto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As a follow up to my sort of “what’s next” post the other day, I put the wheels into motion this week to finish up 2011 strong. For the first time ever, I’ll be running three races three weeks in a row.

While they’re “only” 5ks, my goals for each are different, but all will have the same underlying similarity of figuring out what a realistic goal for the Shamrock Half Marathon will be in March.

Turkey Trot
For $20 and a long-sleeve moisture wicking shirt, plus running for a good cause, why not run this? It’s a new course this year in downtown Lynchburg, so no matter what happens, it’s a course record. And coming off two 5k PRs earlier this year, I want to see where I stand with that distance and speed.

I’m expecting a large crowd, so most of all I just want to have fun and an excuse to have seconds on Thanksgiving. This race is more about setting me up for the next race a little more than a week later.

Christmas Classic
This will be the first race I have ran five times — three of those from my pre-blogging days — with one of those being a 10k that no longer exists. My main goal will be to beat my course record of 24:34 from two years ago on a cold, rainy, almost snowy day.

This is my home course — the loop route includes streets I have ran on dozens of times since I moved back to Bedford two years ago. I feel like there’s no better time than now to make it the best Christmas Classic yet.

Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis
The final leg of the 5k trio takes me to Roanoke, where I fully expect to run a race purely for the fun of it. It’s free through a workout program at work and I’ll be running with co-workers that I’d really like to see push themselves in this distance.

That said, this is going to be a very crowded race and it’s all about bringing awareness to a great cause, ending the year with a fun run, and giving a push to co-workers. I won’t be setting any goals for this other than to have fun.

A year ago I was panicking as my second Richmond Marathon neared and I was battling an ITB injury. I had a strong year only to see things unravel in the final 2½ months of 2010.

After the marathon, I closed out the year at the lowest point since I started running in 2004. Sure I hit 1,000 miles, which was my huge goal for the year, but I had to do it in what felt like such an uncelebratory way. In December, I set a goal for 2011 to end it stronger than I begin it.

And now, all of a sudden, that time is here. I’ve thought about it since I wrote about it. I’ve been trying to figure out what I meant all year – sure it sounded good, but how I hit accomplish this goal is so open-ending.

In some ways, I’ve already accomplished it. In the second half of the year I have set a PR in the 5k twice, the 5 miler and the marathon. I’ve also already ran more miles in the second half of this year than I did in the first 6 months – 412.3 from January through June; 463 since July 1.

I’m finding myself in unchartered terrority with my running – two marathons ended with injury and an overall lack of interest in running. Now with a little more than two months left in the year, I remain excited about running after my third marathon.

It’s time to focus on finishing what I started this year … and last year. In these last two months I want to hit 1,000 miles in a meaningful way. I don’t want to force it just because I’m close to it. I want it to be fun.

I also want to close the year off strong race-wise with a course record at my “home” course – the Bedford Christmas Classic. I enjoyed watching my friends run strong in that race last year, but it hurt me to miss it.

I ease back on my mileage a bit and get rested up before I prepare for the next big training cycle with my fifth Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach in March. But that’s 2012. I have some things to take care of in the next 67 days.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I know for the second straight month that I’m getting away from my goal of “11 things” posts, but with the Baltimore Marathon just days away, I made a promise to myself the other day to do some reflecting.

There’s no better way to reflect than an 11 things posts. Here are 11 things that have happened during training, lessons I’ve learned, things I never posted and other random thoughts.

1. I listened to this song a lot on my long runs in the last month or so. To hear it when the sun is coming up often gave me a sense of peace and helped me find strength when I needed it most.

2. I’m pretty sure I experienced the biggest variety of weather this time around. With a majority of mid-week runs in the middle of the day, I had the hottest conditions I’ve ever run in, with temperatures often near 90 or slightly above. These past two weekends, it’s been half that at the start.

3. In a 16-week span, I ran 456.7 miles, which is 51.9 more miles than the 16 weeks prior to the Richmond Marathon last year.

4. I’ve been much more diligent about recovery runs this year with running a couple of miles or so the day after big runs.

5. I have walked 117 miles since the beginning of July 1. That’s just walking miles logged on Daily Mile. That’s miles I’ve walked at work and family walks on Sunday; actual mileage is probably a bit higher. I’ve also hiked a few times too. I wrote a long time ago about walking more and how it would impact training, and I have nothing but great things to say about it. All this walking silently pushed me over 1,000 exercise miles for the year recently.

6. As a weather junkie (see No. 2 above), I’ve been looking at long-range forecasts for this weekend as soon as they were available. Accuweather’s 15-day forecast and the Weather Channel’s 10-day forecast have surprisingly stayed consistent. Saturday is looking good right now, but I know things can change. After seeing hot weather for Chicago return this past weekend, I’m mentally preparing myself for the worse.

7. I’ve never once doubted setting my 3:45 goal. In fact, it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in training. It made my training much more intentional and focused with every run. Whether all this pays off Saturday is obviously to be determined, but I like heading to the start line in this mind frame.

8. I took my first ice bath after one of my long runs. I can’t bring myself to ice bath No. 2.

9. I stretch after all my runs — sometimes it’s just a few minutes for short runs, often it’s about 10 minutes after a long run. I rarely stretched before.

10. I ran 148 miles on Saturdays. That’s more than Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays combined. The lowest day was Monday, with 37.4 miles. In August, I stopped running on Mondays (besides 8.3 on Labor Day) when that became a regular core day.

11. I talk a lot about having fun and encourage people to always have fun on a race or run. In looking back at the past 16 weeks, I can honestly say I had fun. From the sunrises, to seeing families of deer, to laughing with co-workers on lunch runs, this has been an awesome experience.