I am going to set some basic goals for 2008, nothing fancy (and not as lofty as many others can regularly achieve), but some that will be reasonable (and challenging for me).
1. Get my 5 K time under 30 minutes. For me this is a lofty goal since sub-35 minutes is currently a challenge. I will spend time this spring working on speed training.
2. Run a half marathon under 2:30. This is an important goal for me--and one that is most definitely doable.
3. Complete a full marathon. I have already registered for the first Rock n Roll San Antonio Marathon http://www.rnrsa.com on November 16, 2008. This one may seem a bit anticlimactic since, although I have never completed a full marathon, I have completed a 50K ultra marathon.
4. Run the Sunmart 50K Texas Trail Endurance http://www.petroleumwholesale.com/sunmart.web/race/default.aspx again in 2008. This time I want to come in under 8 hours. That was my conservative 2007 goal time, but blisters in both feet pushed me back into settling for completing the run in any time.
5. Dropping 25 pounds from my 254.5 pound body. In order to do this I will have to watch what I eat in addition to all my running.
There they are, my top 5 goals for 2008. I guess in a year we can see how I did!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
2007 in Review
I can hardly believe that it has been several months since my last post! The new job I mentioned takes up considerable time and effort, some of it due to the poor management of my predecessor. Anyway, here is a recap of my 2007 running.
2007 is the first year in a long time I have run consistently and maintained a real program. As a returning beginner to the sport of running, only much older than before, I consulted several runners online and in my neighborhood. I generally used the writings of John Bingham and Hal Higdon for reference material.
March 3, 2007 - Spring Fever 5K - 38:45 This was my first real competitive event and I was satisfied with my time and experiencing this event.
March 10, 2007 - Bayou City Classic 10K - 1:16:45 I ran a slightly faster rate here just a week later. This was a big city event--very lively and exciting. It was a nice practice for my first long distance race to come.
April 1, 2007 - Big D Half Marathon - 2:58:24 The Aprils Fool's Day joke was on me and many other runners as a major accident blocked the primary highway access to the starting area of the race. I finally made it to the starting line 26 minutes after the start (which was held up for around 15 minutes already) and there were many others later than I. Fortunately, I found the course markers and enjoyed the day. Unfortunately, the chip mats were off by the time I arrived so my official time is based on the gun time (3:24:01, oh well....)
September 20, 2007 - Chevron Houston Marathon 5K Kick-off Party - 38:38 It wasn't that I only beat me earlier 5K by a measly 6 seconds. It was that I did it on a hot, muggy summer's late afternoon/evening compared to the previous 5K run during ideal weather!
October 13, 2007 - Ten for Texas - 2:01:11 A nice run in The Woodlands, Texas through much of the community with a great after-party! I expect I would have broken 2 hours if it wasn't such a warm morning.
October 28, 2007 - Koala Houston Half - 2:35:52 The weather was slightly better than one week earlier and my performance improved for this run. I was very happy to have dropped over 22 minutes at this distance in less than 7 months.
November 3, 2007 - Rocky Raccoon 25K Trail Run - 3:46:26 Given this was my first real trail run and that I had run hard two of the last three weekends, I made this run at a nice recovery run pace. I really enjoyed this one.
December 8, 2007 - Sunmart Texas Trail Endurance Run 50K - 10:19:52 I hadn't really prepared for this distance, but wanted to give it a try. My plan was to take it easy and replicate my 25K pace from the month before. Unfortunately, the weather was unseasonably warm, so I adjusted my plan back down a bit to avoid problems. I went along well until somewhere around mile 22, where blisters were setting in. I ended up treating the blisters and walking pretty much the rest of the distance, finally finishing 2 - 2.5 hours slower than I had expected. However, over 400 of the 1,100 some registrants did not even finish, mostly due to the very warm and humid conditions.
All in all, I have to feel it was a successful first year for me.
2007 is the first year in a long time I have run consistently and maintained a real program. As a returning beginner to the sport of running, only much older than before, I consulted several runners online and in my neighborhood. I generally used the writings of John Bingham and Hal Higdon for reference material.
March 3, 2007 - Spring Fever 5K - 38:45 This was my first real competitive event and I was satisfied with my time and experiencing this event.
March 10, 2007 - Bayou City Classic 10K - 1:16:45 I ran a slightly faster rate here just a week later. This was a big city event--very lively and exciting. It was a nice practice for my first long distance race to come.
April 1, 2007 - Big D Half Marathon - 2:58:24 The Aprils Fool's Day joke was on me and many other runners as a major accident blocked the primary highway access to the starting area of the race. I finally made it to the starting line 26 minutes after the start (which was held up for around 15 minutes already) and there were many others later than I. Fortunately, I found the course markers and enjoyed the day. Unfortunately, the chip mats were off by the time I arrived so my official time is based on the gun time (3:24:01, oh well....)
September 20, 2007 - Chevron Houston Marathon 5K Kick-off Party - 38:38 It wasn't that I only beat me earlier 5K by a measly 6 seconds. It was that I did it on a hot, muggy summer's late afternoon/evening compared to the previous 5K run during ideal weather!
October 13, 2007 - Ten for Texas - 2:01:11 A nice run in The Woodlands, Texas through much of the community with a great after-party! I expect I would have broken 2 hours if it wasn't such a warm morning.
October 28, 2007 - Koala Houston Half - 2:35:52 The weather was slightly better than one week earlier and my performance improved for this run. I was very happy to have dropped over 22 minutes at this distance in less than 7 months.
November 3, 2007 - Rocky Raccoon 25K Trail Run - 3:46:26 Given this was my first real trail run and that I had run hard two of the last three weekends, I made this run at a nice recovery run pace. I really enjoyed this one.
December 8, 2007 - Sunmart Texas Trail Endurance Run 50K - 10:19:52 I hadn't really prepared for this distance, but wanted to give it a try. My plan was to take it easy and replicate my 25K pace from the month before. Unfortunately, the weather was unseasonably warm, so I adjusted my plan back down a bit to avoid problems. I went along well until somewhere around mile 22, where blisters were setting in. I ended up treating the blisters and walking pretty much the rest of the distance, finally finishing 2 - 2.5 hours slower than I had expected. However, over 400 of the 1,100 some registrants did not even finish, mostly due to the very warm and humid conditions.
All in all, I have to feel it was a successful first year for me.
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