Running …

… because I can … because it's fun … because it's healthy … just BECAUSE.

Tag Archives: goals

No. 1091

There’s part of me that feels a bit weird sharing less about running this year after I’ve shared so much on this blog for 7 years. I offer no apologies for it, nor should I offer up any reasons.

With two kids, a promotion, #RunChat and other normal life things, writing about running isn’t a high priority. That also means that things are going fairly well too.

Aside from a monthly roundup, I doubt I write more than just a few times a month this summer.

All that said, here’s a quick update:

  • I’m doing the Runner’s World Run Streak that started Memorial Day and “ends” July 4. It’s kind of nice to get some redemption on the holiday streak that I was forced to end after an illness.
  • I still want a 5K PR on July 4. I’m doing more speedwork; I can get to below that 5K PR pace on intervals; all I can do is go for it and see what happens. I do have a backup race a few weeks later in mind.
  • I miss winter.
  • There’s no question that I’m fan of Altra’s shoes, but I’ve struggled a bit with the Torin 1.5. The original shoe, however, fits me well and I’m making sure those will be my main shoe for the rest of the year.
  • I never did a recap of the problems with the 8K I did last month, but I wrote the race director and got a canned response. At least he responded, but I won’t be going back to that race.
  • I still don’t have an “A” fall race. I don’t know what I want to do. I try to care, but I can’t. Not yet. Right now I’m just focused on July. What happens in the 5K will be a part of those decisions.

That’s really about it. Now excuse me while I try to get to bed at a decent hour …

May Report Card: B

I enjoyed doing a report card in April — it made me think a lot throughout May about what I was doing in a completely different way. For at least another month, I’ll again grade myself in a variety of areas to see where things stand as I head into the summer.

Overall mileage: B
I was hoping to get close to 90, but ended up just shy of 80. It’s funny what just a couple of rough nights with a baby will do to overall mileage. I missed a couple of runs and cut a couple short, thus the lower total.

Quality mileage: A-
Speedwork at least once a week, plus a new PR were nice. It just wasn’t quite a full “A” material.

Cross training: B
I didn’t get on my bike, but I did hit the weight room at my work’s gym once a week; last week I went twice. I could definitely do more.

Nutrition: B-
In the second half of the month I started making smoothies with kale and a variety of fruit. The way it’s made me feel better has been amazing.

I can’t give myself a better grade, though, when I look at the month as a whole. The first half of the month was not that great.

Attitude: B+
In my race yesterday, I had this thought about halfway through that I couldn’t keep the pace. That’s a mental issue I’ve had for nearly two years in many races.

I didn’t lose my pace though; in fact I had a small negative split. My attitude is getting a lot better and I’m crossing some mental hurdles; June and July will be key to me getting fully over whatever my problem is/was.

Overall grade: B
Nice improvement from my C+ in April. For June I want to run more and I want to continue running better.

I also know that continued improvements with nutrition will help a lot. I’ve got a 5K in July that should be PR material, and these next 30 days are huge in getting there.

April Report Card: C+

Looking at just my numbers for the month is a little old, so I’m switching things up as I look back at April and grading myself.

It’s not all about the mileage or the scale — there’s the question of how I feel and a variety of factors that lead to how satisfied I am with a month. I think this may help me provide a more honest answer with myself and my state of running each month.

In hindsight, I’d give each of the first three months a B. I could easily look back at March and be disappointed because getting sick cut out about 20 running miles, but overall I felt really good at Shamrock and ending the quarter with a decent weight loss.

April, however, gets a downgrade. I ran more this month than last (a little more than 80 miles), but I failed miserably at cross training, including one little bike ride and minimal core work.

I ate too many cookies. I had too many second helpings. My saving grace is having a stand-up desk at work.

So here’s how I’m grading things right now. I may adjust my “classes” moving forward.

Overall mileage: A-
I’m happy to get past 80 miles after some downtime in March. Ideally I wanted to be in the mid 80s, but cut back on a few runs because of lack of time.

Quality mileage: A-
For three Fridays I did some speedwork. It was nice to add that back into my routine. I also added some great hill work ahead of Blue Ridge. It just wasn’t quite 4.0 graded material.

Cross training: D
Now that it’s warmer, I hope to hit my bike more. I also need to get back to more push-ups, planks and other core work. April was just bad.

Nutrition: C-
People need to stop bringing in cookies to work and I need to stop eating them. It’s really that simple.

Attitude: B
In my comeback to better running this year, I’ve realized more and more how negative of an attitude I had for much of last year toward my runs, racing and even other runners. If I have a better attitude, other things should improve, too.

Overall grade: C+
Since I’m a nice teacher, I’ll give my 2.18 average a little bump. And this sounds about right. It was slightly above average all around. I’ll try to bring this up a bit for May.

No words for Blue Ridge

I don’t have the words to explain how awesome the Blue Ridge Half Marathon weekend was again this year.

With so many different people I know — former co-workers, friends from high school, #RunChat friends, several other bloggers and an unusual amount of Iowans (hi Josh, Angie and Theresa!) — taking part in it, the race itself has felt like just a small part of the weekend for a couple of years in a row.

The race, though, is what we all talk about before, during and after. It’s crazy. It’s nuts. It’s brutal. It’s painful. It’s rewarding. It now has Peakwood in addition to Mill Mountain.

Take everything you could imagine about a race, both good and bad (and everything else in between), and that’s what the Blue Ridge Half Marathon has become. I could only imagine what doing the full marathon would do to me.

On the way up Mill Mountain, in just the first three miles, I told my friend Josh (not the one from Iowa) that if I had any small desire left to do the full marathon, it was already gone.

Now I’m not so sure.

The Blue Ridge Half (and full) Marathon toys with my emotions. It has for 4 out of the past 5 years. Actually, even the one year I couldn’t run after an injury it messed with my mind because I missed it so much.

If you happened to come here looking for some kind of race recap, I apologize for my lack of finding the right words to explain it.

It’s just one of those race weekends that you have to experience yourself to fully understand why I have this reaction.

Running in the moment

My last PR came at the Carytown 10K in May 2012.

In the past year and a half, I’ve had many thoughts about not wanting to do another marathon.

With the exception of the time I was running at Disney in January 2013, I’ve had no excitement about doing this distance since training ended in fall 2012.

Now that I have climbed my way out of a funk, I understand more and more than my funk lasted for so long because I felt like I should be training for a marathon, or maybe even beyond.

All other runs didn’t seem as important without having a goal for 26.2 miles in mind. I got too caught up in other people’s emotions and what it was like for them to hit goals for that distance.

I had a hidden secret that I was going to do the Blue Ridge Marathon this year; the reality is just before Shamrock I knew Blue Ridge wouldn’t be able to happen. After realizing what I need to do just to perform better at a half, I opted to move along from cramming in more miles and instead focus on another half … and then eventually knocking out a PR in the half and/or other distances.

While doing several quarter-mile intervals this morning, I realized even more that I’m just not excited about training for a marathon. I’m excited, though, about running faster. Out of nowhere, one of my intervals was in 1:47; they were all under 1:54.

When looking back at 10 years of running, the times I remember the most have been when I’ve gone for a PR at shorter distances.

Conquering the marathon distance for the first time in 2007 was definitely thrilling; breaking 4 hours in 2011 after an injury was amazing; doing Disney was quite magical; but my overall feeling toward long runs of 2-3 hours and 40-some mile weeks in the middle of summer (or winter) is not a positive one.

My last PR was in a 10K in May 2012, which came at the end of an awesome year-plus span of running. I know that I haven’t peaked yet.

It’s very possible that I take another 3-year break from the marathon like I did after 2007; the bug may bite me sooner; it may never bite again.

It feels so out of the ordinary and crazy to improve my 5K time and try to get it closer to 21 minutes; I need to find a 10K or two and go for 45 minutes; and, of course, I’d love to read 1:39:59 on a half marathon clock within the next year.

It’s time for me to live in the moment and go for other things with running that, at least right now, are more exciting and feel right. Now I just have to figure out what to go for first.