Looking Both Ways

Before I look ahead to what’s on tap for this year, let’s look back to see how I did on my Running Goals for 2012.

Training Goals:
1. Stay injury free for the duration of 2012.
Grade: PASS - Only one (brief) minor setback this year and the time off was fairly productive. Stayed healthy enough to achieve an all-time record high in mileage for the year at 3130!

2. Get my weight below 180 and keep it there for the year.
Grade: FAIL - Got to 180, but stayed there for only 2 weeks. Averaged in the 182 – 186 range for the majority of the year. Now I’m up to 188 again. Gotta do better in this area!

3. Add more cross training exercises to my workout routine.
Grade: PASS - Did some swimming, biking, trail running and even spent some time at the gym. Shocker!

4. Learn to swim. Not just treading water.
Grade: PASS - Took a class. Began slowly but really improved as I started to figure some things out. I really enjoyed it and even did an open-water swim!

Racing Goals:
1. Compete in my first duathlon race.
Grade: FAIL - Missed my primary opportunity at Rye (pouring rain and my poor bike skills don’t mix) then kind of lost interest after that.

2. Complete my first 50 mile race.
Grade: PASS – Ran the Stonecat 50 in November. Clearly the highlight of my year, running-wise. Ran well ahead of expectations and had a blast while doing it! Not the last time I’ll be running a race of this distance. Qualified for Western States by almost 2-hours in my first attempt! I might actually be good at this.

3. Become an Iron-Runner by running each of the 7 NEGP races
Grade: FAIL (but only by 26.2 miles) - I did all 6 of the races leading up to the marathon, but ultimately chose to sit out Cape Cod since it occurred less than 1 week before my 50 miler. In hindsight, I set myself up to fail with this particular goal.

4. Win a race - of any distance.
Grade: FAIL (but only by a whisker) – Came in second - twice! Once early in the year at Freeze Your Buns and once late in the year at Novemberfest. The Novemberfest race was REALLY close. I lost by 3 seconds while wearing a wig and moustache! Even so, I wouldn’t have changed a thing!

Time Goals:
1m: 5:10
Never found a race that worked with my schedule - or my fitness.

5k: 17:30 (5:38)
Best of 2012: Jan 22 - Freeze Your Buns 5k - 18:47 (6:03)

5m: 29:00 (5:48)
Best of 2012: Feb 11 - Bradford Valentines 5m - 32:41 (6:33) sick

10k: 36:30 (5:54)
Best of 2012: Sept 16 - Reach the Beach - Leg 2 (6.3m) - 39:43 (6:22)

10m: 1:02:00 (6:12)
Best of 2012: Oct 21 - Granite State 10m - 1:05:00 (6:30) hilly 

1/2m: 1:22:00 (6:16)
Best of 2012: Mar 18 - New Bedford Half Marathon - 1:25:10 (6:30)

Mar: 3:00:00 (6:52)
Best of 2012: Apr 16 - Boston Marathon - 4:09:10 (9:31) brutal heat

Summary: These time goals were a bit lofty given that I spent most of my year focusing on endurance training for the 50 Miler. And, for one reason or another, I only made it to about a quarter of the GCS Summer Track Workouts. So, I never really gave myself a chance to attain these.

Which brings me to 2013 …

My running goal for this year is simple: PR in as many distances (and on as many courses) as I can, before it's too late!

Now that I’ve been running for a full 15 years, and have reached the ripe old age of 44, I know that many of my PR’s will be out of reach very soon – if they aren’t already! So, before I dive headlong into “Pure Endurance Training” for my next 50 (or even 100) miler on the horizon I’d like to give all those PR's at least one last scare before I hang up the racing flats for good.

 

Too that end, I plan on reducing my mileage slightly (50 mpw versus the 60 mpw I did in 2012) while increasing my pace. I want to make sure that I have at least one (if not two) up-tempo training runs per week. Whether it be intervals on the track, hill repeats or long tempo runs. I certainly can’t expect to run fast if I don’t train fast!

I’m also planning on hitting the gym a little bit more to increase my overall strength while trying to slim down to my ideal racing weight – again, in the 180 range.

“Lose the weight and pick up the pace” will be my mantra for 2013!

Wish me luck!