2 weeks ago, my coach emailed me a goal time for the Houston Half Marathon. The goal was 1:40:24. I admit, I freaked out a bit seeing this. My previous half marathon PR was 1:48:3x. But my training had gone well ... still 13.1 miles with average minute per mile under 8 min? I wasn't so sure. But I knew I wanted to give it my all. So going in, my A goal was 1:40:24 or faster, my A- goal was sub 1:43, my B goal sub 1:45 and my C goal was a new PR.
We got to Houston on Friday after leaving Boston at 6:30am. I went with Dave & my mom. Our first stop was the expo, which was big and well organized. I did a pull up hang for 60+ seconds at the Marine's station to get a coffee mug. That killed my arms. After the expo we headed to my uncle's house, where we were staying. We hit up Whole Foods for lunch and it was delish! After lunch, Dave & I went for an easy 4 mile run, it was warm out! My legs felt great during this run and I was feeling good. We had a delicious dinner that night and went to bed before 8.
Saturday morning we were up at 6:30am and heading into Houston at 7am. Thank God for Starbucks! Needed my coffee. We watched the Olympic Marathon Trials that morning and it was so inspiring. I was so happy for the top 3, and devastated for the 4th place finishers. It was amazing to be there watching these athletes accomplishing the goals they had been working so hard for. We saw the runners at mile 2, 10, 18 and 26. I loved watching Meb finish especially, he was so thrilled!
We spent the rest of Saturday relaxing and fueling. I watched the first half of the Patriots game on Saturday night, I was very thankful they had a sizable lead so I could go to bed early. Dave, of course, stayed up to watch.
I slept surprisingly well that night until waking up for good at 4am. I took my time eating and getting ready before we left at 5am. There was a bit of traffic getting there but not too bad. We porta potty hopped until finishing some with basically no lines, after taking care of business, it was off to the corrals. Since I was in Corral A, I had to be in by 6:40am. Then I just stood around for 20 minutes, boring ... took a gel and retied my right shoe at least 3 times. I think the retying thing comes from my figure skating days.
At 7am, we were off. It was a bit crowded for the first mile. And there was an bit of an uphill but I was fine, settling in well.
(Garmin splits, 1.01 time (pace))
Mile 1: 8:02 (7:57)
Mile 2: 7:38 (7:33), definitely spread out here ... didn't realize I ran the 2nd mile this fast, probably a bit of a mistake.
Mile 3: 7:42 (7:37), don't remember anything other than joining the marathoners here
Mile 4: 7:41 (7:36) ... find the 3:20 marathon pace group and try to run just behind them ... they're going a bit faster than I expected though
Mile 5: 7:33 (7:29) ... ooops
Mile 6: 7:34 (7:29) ... consistent at least ... ideally I should have been in the high 730s here I'm thinking. Took a gel with caffeine here ...
Mile 7: 7:39 (7:34) ... feeling good
Mile 8: 7:37 (7:32), I remember thinking just hold it in the 730s for 2 more miles, I can drop down to the 720s the last 5K and maybe run sub 140 ...
Mile 9: 7:40 (7:35), separate from the marathoners here
Mile 10: 7:43 (7:38) ... take another gel and try to drop the pace but can't ... just hang on to the 730s ...
Mile 11: 7:49 (7:44) and we're heading in the wrong direction ... keep repeating 1 line mantras to myself ... cannot stop, cannot walk, just go ... you can do anything for 20 minutes
Mile 12: 7:51 (7:46), just hanging on
Mile 13: 7:44 (7:39), ok maybe sub 141? Into the wind here, it sucked
Last .11: 7:12 pace
Total: 1:41:00 and I'm thrilled. Not sub 1:40, not 1:40:24 but a 7+ min PR and a great race for me!
Lessons learned:
- Still need to hold back for the first few miles
- I can run a whole half marathon without walking
- I am mentally strong
- Setting hard too reach goals is a good thing
- I need to believe in myself more, my coach knew I could do it, I was doubtful.
- Don't do a pull up hang the day before - my arms and shoulders were killing after the race
- Concrete sucks to run on
I'm still feeling great about this race, yeah I didn't reach my goal but I was close and I will get under 1:40 next time! I usually have major stomach issues during and after races and I didn't deal with this at all ... so awesome.
A quote that really describes how I've been feeling:
"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."
~ Michelangelo
Up next: Cooper River Bridge Run (10K) ... not sure if I'm racing it or running it yet.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Friday, January 20, 2012
Friday, July 16, 2010
Refocusing this blog - Running History ... And current goal - Qualify for Boston
Ahhh, yet another attempt to start blogging again! We'll see :) But I hope to be dedicated to not only blogging but commenting on other blogs actively. It's a big goal of mine. But below I'll talk about my current biggest goal:
My current goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. In order to do this, I need to shave 30 minutes off of my current Marathon time. Now I’ve only run one marathon and finished it in 4:10:47. I need to run a 3:40:59 to qualify for Boston. I’m aiming for 2012. I know I won’t be running Boston in 2011 because I’d need to run a qualifying time by October 2010 and that’s not going to happen since I’m not planning on running another marathon until January 2011. So I have some time but I need to get committed. I’m currently training for a half marathon in October and focusing on increasing my mileage and doing some speedwork.
I suppose I should start by describing my running history before I start blogging about training to qualifying for Boston because I will qualify, it’s just a matter of when. If I have a goal, I’m going to get there and it’s not like the Boston Marathon is going to cease to exist, so I have my whole life to get there. Although if I’m honest, my goal is to qualify for Boston before I have my first child. We’ll see though. Anyway, back to my running history.
I started attempting to run in 2007 as a sophomore in college. My boyfriend and I would run a loop by his house a few times a week at most. And I just used gmap pedometer to see the distance of the run since I never had before, it was a 2.5 mile loop. Now when I say we ran, I mean we attempted to run it and did walk sometimes. Anyway after a few months of that I did my first 5K in May 2007 and finished in 27:30. At this time I was also a figure skater and on a collegiate club team. Skating was my first love and my priority. That summer was to be spent training at my home rink with my long time coach. I was skating 4 days a week and working a lot so I pretty much stopped running at all except for occasional runs on the treadmill. Then I injured my back in late July 2007. Now I had hurt my back before and dealt with pain and physical therapy many times. But this was different, it just didn’t go away like I was used to. So I saw a specialist again and went through a myriad of tests. I was eventually diagnosed with spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis. Basically I have a chronic back problem with stress fractures that never seemed to heal. I was advised to stop skating and all impact activities. I’m stubborn though. When college started up again in the fall, I resumed skating on my team despite the pain. I was in physical therapy with a physical therapist who I had been seeing for awhile. He thought I could keep skating and when I mentioned starting to run again he was encouraging. At the same time, I saw another specialist that was highly recommended. After my appointments with him I was basically devastated. He told me that I shouldn’t skate, should never plan on running etc … He painted a very dim future for me, but I still would not give up. I decided to finish that season of skating and had an okay season despite the pain and inability to practice much. My team made it to Nationals that year and didn’t finish as high as we usually did but it was fun.I didn’t run often during this year as the doctor had advised against it.
The summer of 2008 I stayed at school to work and since I couldn’t skate I needed something to do that felt like a challenge and pushed me. I began doing couch to 5K on the treadmill at the gym. I learned that I shouldn’t try to run too fast just comfortably and to not push myself too much. I was finally able to run for real it seemed! Running wasn’t hurting my back at all either. I did a 4 mile race that September and finished in 34:30ish, I don’t remember for sure. Amazingly, I won my age group (it was a small race haha)! I was really into running now but still didn’t know too much about it. I just ran. So I decided I should work on building mileage up. I ran a lot of 3 mile runs that fall around a reservoir near me. I ran a 5K at Thanksgiving and finished in 25:37! I thought that was great and I wanted to do a 10K that spring. Unfortunately I injured my knee that winter and didn’t run again until May 2009. I consider May 2009 to be the real start of my running career since I had never really run consistently with a focus before then.
In May 2009, my boyfriend and I decided to do a half marathon in September 2009. We started training and we were using a Runners World Smart Coach plan but eventually switched to Hal Higdon’s Novice Half Marathon plan. The summer of training was definitely a new challenge but I learned to love running longer distances. I finished the half marathon in 1:56:23 and I was hooked. I wanted to started training for a marathon immediately but injuries stopped me (shin splints mostly – was tested for compartment syndrome since I was dealing with numbness too). I ran a few other races that fall (2 5Ks, a 10K). I worked on maintaining mileage that winter, going to PT for my shins and just focusing on getting better. Since I couldn’t run the marathon I had wanted to in February 2010 I began looking for others. I ended up training for and running the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon on May 30th. It was a challenge, mentally more than physically but now I’m ready for more. I know that I need to increase my mileage a lot and I don’t want to get injured again so I’m being smart and slow about it. I’m training for a half and then I will start another marathon cycle.
This blog will now chronicle my life, my training, my goal of losing 15-20lbs to help me become faster and hopefully eventually a BQ!
My current goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. In order to do this, I need to shave 30 minutes off of my current Marathon time. Now I’ve only run one marathon and finished it in 4:10:47. I need to run a 3:40:59 to qualify for Boston. I’m aiming for 2012. I know I won’t be running Boston in 2011 because I’d need to run a qualifying time by October 2010 and that’s not going to happen since I’m not planning on running another marathon until January 2011. So I have some time but I need to get committed. I’m currently training for a half marathon in October and focusing on increasing my mileage and doing some speedwork.
I suppose I should start by describing my running history before I start blogging about training to qualifying for Boston because I will qualify, it’s just a matter of when. If I have a goal, I’m going to get there and it’s not like the Boston Marathon is going to cease to exist, so I have my whole life to get there. Although if I’m honest, my goal is to qualify for Boston before I have my first child. We’ll see though. Anyway, back to my running history.
I started attempting to run in 2007 as a sophomore in college. My boyfriend and I would run a loop by his house a few times a week at most. And I just used gmap pedometer to see the distance of the run since I never had before, it was a 2.5 mile loop. Now when I say we ran, I mean we attempted to run it and did walk sometimes. Anyway after a few months of that I did my first 5K in May 2007 and finished in 27:30. At this time I was also a figure skater and on a collegiate club team. Skating was my first love and my priority. That summer was to be spent training at my home rink with my long time coach. I was skating 4 days a week and working a lot so I pretty much stopped running at all except for occasional runs on the treadmill. Then I injured my back in late July 2007. Now I had hurt my back before and dealt with pain and physical therapy many times. But this was different, it just didn’t go away like I was used to. So I saw a specialist again and went through a myriad of tests. I was eventually diagnosed with spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis. Basically I have a chronic back problem with stress fractures that never seemed to heal. I was advised to stop skating and all impact activities. I’m stubborn though. When college started up again in the fall, I resumed skating on my team despite the pain. I was in physical therapy with a physical therapist who I had been seeing for awhile. He thought I could keep skating and when I mentioned starting to run again he was encouraging. At the same time, I saw another specialist that was highly recommended. After my appointments with him I was basically devastated. He told me that I shouldn’t skate, should never plan on running etc … He painted a very dim future for me, but I still would not give up. I decided to finish that season of skating and had an okay season despite the pain and inability to practice much. My team made it to Nationals that year and didn’t finish as high as we usually did but it was fun.I didn’t run often during this year as the doctor had advised against it.
The summer of 2008 I stayed at school to work and since I couldn’t skate I needed something to do that felt like a challenge and pushed me. I began doing couch to 5K on the treadmill at the gym. I learned that I shouldn’t try to run too fast just comfortably and to not push myself too much. I was finally able to run for real it seemed! Running wasn’t hurting my back at all either. I did a 4 mile race that September and finished in 34:30ish, I don’t remember for sure. Amazingly, I won my age group (it was a small race haha)! I was really into running now but still didn’t know too much about it. I just ran. So I decided I should work on building mileage up. I ran a lot of 3 mile runs that fall around a reservoir near me. I ran a 5K at Thanksgiving and finished in 25:37! I thought that was great and I wanted to do a 10K that spring. Unfortunately I injured my knee that winter and didn’t run again until May 2009. I consider May 2009 to be the real start of my running career since I had never really run consistently with a focus before then.
In May 2009, my boyfriend and I decided to do a half marathon in September 2009. We started training and we were using a Runners World Smart Coach plan but eventually switched to Hal Higdon’s Novice Half Marathon plan. The summer of training was definitely a new challenge but I learned to love running longer distances. I finished the half marathon in 1:56:23 and I was hooked. I wanted to started training for a marathon immediately but injuries stopped me (shin splints mostly – was tested for compartment syndrome since I was dealing with numbness too). I ran a few other races that fall (2 5Ks, a 10K). I worked on maintaining mileage that winter, going to PT for my shins and just focusing on getting better. Since I couldn’t run the marathon I had wanted to in February 2010 I began looking for others. I ended up training for and running the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon on May 30th. It was a challenge, mentally more than physically but now I’m ready for more. I know that I need to increase my mileage a lot and I don’t want to get injured again so I’m being smart and slow about it. I’m training for a half and then I will start another marathon cycle.
This blog will now chronicle my life, my training, my goal of losing 15-20lbs to help me become faster and hopefully eventually a BQ!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Half Marathon Goals
Eeek, it's going to snow on Sunday! That's what I get for running a half marathon in New England in February, I suppose.
A Goal: Sub 1:48:00. McMillan Running Calculator thinks I can pull off 1:45:53. I disagree, so I'm giving myself two extra minutes for my pie in the sky, reach for it goal. I just don't think I have the mileage in training for a sub 1:46:00 right now.
B Goal: 1:48-1:51:59. I will be extremely happy with any time in this range. Preferably, sub 1:50:00 but I'd take sub 1:52:00 right now especially if the conditions are bad.
C Goal: 1:52:00-1:54:00. I'll take it but I won't be thrilled.
D Goal: A new PR (1:56:23 is my old one). I won't be very happy with anything over 1:54:00 though.
My PR was on a very hilly course, my long run going into it was a 10 miler the week before and I stopped twice for at least 3-4 minutes total during the race due to some foot issues.
This training cycle, I've done 2 10 milers, 1 11 miler, 2 12 milers, 1 13 miler, 1 14 miler and 1 15 miler and I've PRed by 3 minutes in the 10K and this course is supposedly much flatter. So if there is not decent improvement, yes I will be disappointed.
I need to start figuring out what to wear, what to pack for the weekend etc ... I'm so anxious for some reason and it doesn't help that I've been staying up to watch all the figure skating in the Olympics every night. The Ladies start tonight, so I definitely won't be going to bed early! I hope I don't sleep past my alarm tomorrow like I did this morning.
B Goal: 1:48-1:51:59. I will be extremely happy with any time in this range. Preferably, sub 1:50:00 but I'd take sub 1:52:00 right now especially if the conditions are bad.
C Goal: 1:52:00-1:54:00. I'll take it but I won't be thrilled.
D Goal: A new PR (1:56:23 is my old one). I won't be very happy with anything over 1:54:00 though.
My PR was on a very hilly course, my long run going into it was a 10 miler the week before and I stopped twice for at least 3-4 minutes total during the race due to some foot issues.
This training cycle, I've done 2 10 milers, 1 11 miler, 2 12 milers, 1 13 miler, 1 14 miler and 1 15 miler and I've PRed by 3 minutes in the 10K and this course is supposedly much flatter. So if there is not decent improvement, yes I will be disappointed.
I need to start figuring out what to wear, what to pack for the weekend etc ... I'm so anxious for some reason and it doesn't help that I've been staying up to watch all the figure skating in the Olympics every night. The Ladies start tonight, so I definitely won't be going to bed early! I hope I don't sleep past my alarm tomorrow like I did this morning.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Quick Update
I have my first race of 2010 this weekend. I'm running this 10K: http://bostonrunner.com/ss2010info.php. I'll be sure to post a race report. My goal is sub 49:00. I really want it and I'm going to push as hard as I can and fight to the finish. I don't think I've ever given it my all in a race, so this one I will be. Plus, I want to get an idea of my fitness to make a goal for my upcoming Half Marathon.
Quick recap of the year so far:
Total miles: 137.7 miles
January miles: 126.6 miles
January 1-3: 17 miles
January 4-10: 27 miles
January 11-17: 21 miles
January 18-24: 29.5 miles
January 25-31: 32 miles
February miles: 11.1 miles
February 1-7: 11.1 miles so far, probably will add 2 tomorrow morning and about 8 on race day for a total of 21.1 miles
Doing pretty good so far this year, can't wait to see what happens Sunday!
Quick recap of the year so far:
Total miles: 137.7 miles
January miles: 126.6 miles
January 1-3: 17 miles
January 4-10: 27 miles
January 11-17: 21 miles
January 18-24: 29.5 miles
January 25-31: 32 miles
February miles: 11.1 miles
February 1-7: 11.1 miles so far, probably will add 2 tomorrow morning and about 8 on race day for a total of 21.1 miles
Doing pretty good so far this year, can't wait to see what happens Sunday!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
2010 Goals and Tentative Schedule
I have a long list of goals for 2010, some are running-related, some are not and in some ways, they intertwine.
2010 Goals:
- eat clean
- 8-10 servings of veggies and fruits daily
- cut soda of my diet completely
- limit sugar intake, cut out artificial sweeteners
- limit the amount of work I bring home
- spend my time wisely
- learn how to let go and relax
- deal with some personal issues that need to be dealt with
- work on all of my relationships
- save a large amount of money for an eventual downpayment on a house (We have decided not to go the condo route and will be renting instead, starting January 30th. I'm so excited to decorate the new apartment! It has a real fireplace and a washer/dryer in unit!)
- lose weight
Running Related Goals (although some of the above will definitely effect my running, especially the food related ones)
- Run 1,000 miles
- Set PRs in every distance:
5K: sub 23:00
10K: 48:xx
10 miles: 1:24:xx
Half marathon: 1:50:xx
Marathon (well I don't have a PR here yet so goal is ...): 4:15:xx
- Possibly complete a sprint triathlon
2010 Race Schedule - Very Tentative
February 7, 2010 - Super Sunday 10K
February 28, 2010 - Hyannis Half Marathon
April 11, 2010 - Road Race by the Sea 10K
April 25, 2010 - George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler
May/June 2010 - 5K
July/August 2010 - 10K, if I race at all
September 2010 - Half Marathon, possibly the same one I did in September 2009 ... or no race at all
October 2010 - Bay State Marathon
November 2010 - Probably some Thanksgiving Day Race
December 2010 - no races
I'll be back in the next few days with a post about my 2009 running, and recent run recaps. I also want to write some about a change in my eating habits/lifestyle that I'm undergoing after reading "Skinny B!tch" this week.
Happy New Year! Have fun tonight and be safe!!!
2010 Goals:
- eat clean
- 8-10 servings of veggies and fruits daily
- cut soda of my diet completely
- limit sugar intake, cut out artificial sweeteners
- limit the amount of work I bring home
- spend my time wisely
- learn how to let go and relax
- deal with some personal issues that need to be dealt with
- work on all of my relationships
- save a large amount of money for an eventual downpayment on a house (We have decided not to go the condo route and will be renting instead, starting January 30th. I'm so excited to decorate the new apartment! It has a real fireplace and a washer/dryer in unit!)
- lose weight
Running Related Goals (although some of the above will definitely effect my running, especially the food related ones)
- Run 1,000 miles
- Set PRs in every distance:
5K: sub 23:00
10K: 48:xx
10 miles: 1:24:xx
Half marathon: 1:50:xx
Marathon (well I don't have a PR here yet so goal is ...): 4:15:xx
- Possibly complete a sprint triathlon
2010 Race Schedule - Very Tentative
February 7, 2010 - Super Sunday 10K
February 28, 2010 - Hyannis Half Marathon
April 11, 2010 - Road Race by the Sea 10K
April 25, 2010 - George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler
May/June 2010 - 5K
July/August 2010 - 10K, if I race at all
September 2010 - Half Marathon, possibly the same one I did in September 2009 ... or no race at all
October 2010 - Bay State Marathon
November 2010 - Probably some Thanksgiving Day Race
December 2010 - no races
I'll be back in the next few days with a post about my 2009 running, and recent run recaps. I also want to write some about a change in my eating habits/lifestyle that I'm undergoing after reading "Skinny B!tch" this week.
Happy New Year! Have fun tonight and be safe!!!
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