Happy Friday and weekend, everyone! I'm a little late for a mid-year check on my 2015-2016 running goals mainly because I've been thinking through some changes. These are the goals I set last fall and my updates.
2015-2016 Running Goals
Improve speed and
end stronger in half marathons. UPDATE: I did finish strong in the Just a Short Run Half Marathon but did not in the Pittsburgh Half Marathon and still have not gotten faster. Still working on this.
I finished strong at the JASR Half Marathon
Build a higher running base in 2015 to prepare for a full
marathon in 2016. UPDATE: I did increase my mileage in my last training cycle and am increasing it even more in this current cycle.
Run a full marathon in 2016. UPDATE: This is the biggest change. I'm no longer sure I want to run a full marathon and definitely do NOT want to run the Pittsburgh Marathon as I'd
planned. I was so miserable in the hot weather for the half marathon
this past May that as soon as I finished I realized I could not run the
full marathon. The weather is just too much of a wild card in the beginning of May in Pittsburgh. Furthermore,
I'm not sure I'm ready for a full marathon. I think I'm ready to train for one and would do well in training. But because I typically do not do well in races regardless of how well I do in training, the chances of me having a bad race experience are pretty good. It's bad enough to be miserable for 2.5 hours that I do
not want to go through that for twice as long or longer. I think that if I decide to do a full, it will be Philadelphia since it's so late in the year that I'd be almost guaranteed cool weather. But I think that before I do a full, I need to get faster. The longer I'm on that course, the greater potential there is for me to be miserable. So, this is a question mark for right now.
Remain free of injuries. UPDATE: Yes! I'm been injury-free all year.
Overcome fear of racing. UPDATE: I'm getting there! I've done 7 races so far this year, which is a lot for me! I think I've definitely gotten better with race anxiety as a result.
I also set these activities to meet those goals:
Activities to Meet Those Goals
1. Run four half marathons in 2015.
Just a Short Run Half, March 28 (small rolling
hills): Training run UPDATE: Done!
Pittsburgh Half, May 3 (bridges and some hills):
Goal race UPDATE: Done!
Bird-in-Hand Half, September 6 (small rolling
hills): Training run UPDATE: Because Labor Day is late in September this year, the race conflicted with my vacation in September, so I will not be running this race.
Buffalo Creek Half, October 17 (flat trail with
slight downgrade and hill at end): Goal race UPDATE: Registered!
2. Increase weekly mileage with more double-digit long runs, some with a
strong finish at goal pace. UPDATE: Done in Pittsburgh training.
3. Practice
end-of-long-run fueling options. In my last half marathon, my energy
was zapped at the end. UPDATE: Done in Pittsburgh training.
4. Continue strength training, yoga, stretching, and foam rolling to maintain strength and
flexibility to reduce the risk of injuries and help build overall
fitness. UPDATE: Done in Pittsburgh training. I'm still doing strength, yoga, and daily stretching, but have gotten away from foam rolling. I need to start doing this again.
5. Run additional races as training runs, to work on speed, and to help me overcome my fear of racing. UPDATE: I've run a bunch of other non-goal races this year, which I think has helped.
6. Run 1,000 miles. I've never set a yearly mileage goal, but this year I
came pretty close (about 950 miles) without trying to hit a certain
number. I think this will be an easy goal to hit. UPDATE: I actually didn't remember this goal! As of last Sunday, I ran 667.06 miles this year. My current training plan is 500 miles, so I won't have a problem meeting it this goal and should come in close to or over 1,200 miles.
7. Continue running with my greyhound, and run the full Turkey Trot 5K with him next year. UPDATE: I ran with him when the weather permitted last winter but haven't since it's gotten hot. He hates hot weather more than I do! I still think we'll have time to do enough practice runs so that we can do the Turkey Trot 5K in November.
We ran a little bit of last year's Turkey Trot together.
Did you set yearly goals? If so, how's your progress?
