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RJSAMS's Recent Blog Entries
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Friday, December 28, 2012
This is the time of year when people assess where they have been for 2012, and where they are headed in 2013. I love this process! It's so easy just to keep putting one foot in front of the other, juggling all the balls of daily life, and forgetting about the big picture. Now is the time to step back and take in the whole forest. (I'm seeing how many metaphors I can cram into this one paragraph, LOL.)
So, I am very happy with 2012. I completed three half-marathons, and one sprint triathlon. I joined a gym and started working on other aspects of my fitness. But I have a long way to go!
For 2013, I plan the following goals:
1) I'm going to run in 13 races in 2013, of varying distances. So far my plans include the Polar Dash on January 1st, the Get in Gear 10K on April 27th, and the Fargo Half-Marathon on May 18th. Haven't planned any others yet, but they will fill in as I go. I want at least two others to be half-marathons.
2) I plan to run 1000 miles in 2013. That's about 20 miles per week, which should be doable with the training I will need.
3) I want to achieve a PR in the half-marathon distance, preferably 2:10 or faster. My best right now is 2:21, so that's a very ambitious goal.
4) I will continue to pursue the 50 half-marathons in 50 states goal. Fargo will be #4; we'll see what others I find for 2013.
5) I'm going to fit another sprint triathlon into the mix. Not sure which one yet.
6) Last but NOT least, I'm going to devote the same self-discipline that I have been directing to my training toward improvement at my job and financial status. Somehow that goal always gets placed last, but I need to make sure it is NOT least.
There. I said it. I put it in writing. Now I HAVE to do it.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
I am fast approaching my 50th birthday. Wow, a half-century on this earth, hard to believe. A year ago I set some goals for myself for my 50th year, and I mostly accomplished them.
1) I wanted to run a half-marathon: I have run two, the Jailbreak Half-Marathon in April, and the Lady Speed Stick Women's Half Marathon in August.
2) I wanted to run a 5K race in less than 30 minutes: did that in April at the Challenge Obesity 5K--28:27.
3) I wanted to complete a triathlon: did the Elysian Rookie Triathlon in July.
No time to rest on my laurels, though. Now it's time to think about my 51st year. How can I keep moving forward?
I gave some thought to the 13 half-marathons in 2013 challenge, but I think that's biting off more than I can chew. I don't know that my knees can recover in the space of time that would be required to accomplish that challenge. I am considering shooting for 13 races in 2013. I think I am up to that challenge. I am also looking at a lifetime goal of 50 half-marathons in 50 states. That will indulge my love of running and my love of travel. Great combination!
What else? I'm still considering what my priorities will be. Continued good health is one, financial health is another. I took a step in the right direction by moving in mid-September to a smaller place. It was a pleasant wake-up call to write the rent check today--lots less for a place I like almost as well. Now to concentrate on the other steps I need to take to achieve financial health. I will have to figure out how to quantify that into measurable goals.
I have 10 days yet to my birthday. Much to consider. I will post my quantifiable goals when I have them completely thought out. I'm taking suggestions, LOL.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
I guess I never posted a report about the Lady Speed Stick Half-Marathon at the end of August.
It went faster than I thought. The hills were pretty relentless; we agreed, my DD and me, that we would walk up some of the hills and walk through the water stops. We did that consistently. We probably walked more than either of us thought we would, but it was a really tough course. Also it was not hot, but very humid. We finished in 2:22, which is just a minute slower than my first half in April. Since the first one was on a completely flat course, I felt pretty good about my time on this one. We must have been running faster, since we walked so much more!
The best thing about it, besides finishing :-) was how quickly I recovered. I was sore for a day or two, but back to full running within 3 days. I take that as a sign that my fitness is improving, even if my time was not faster.
So I started looking around for my next challenge. We are doing the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon in November, so I am training for that. But I began to look beyond.
One of the women in the Lady Speed Stick half was talking about running the 50 half-marathons in 50 states challenge. There's no time limit to this--you can spend your whole life working toward the goal, and I find it very intriguing. It combines my love of running with my love of travel and seeing new places. So I think I am placing this challenge on my bucket list. Info can be found here:
http://www.halfmarathonclub.com/
Someone on another list I am on challenged members to consider the 13 half-marathons in 2013 challenge. So that's 13 x 13.1 in 2013! Can I do it? That's a pretty big chunk to bite off, and may be too much for my age and my knees, but I might make the attempt. Once again, there's no time limit on the events, so you can walk them if you like. I have time to change my mind about that, but it is turning, turning... My recovery after the last half has encouraged me to think that it might be possible. :-)
I look back on this and think, what happened to the fat girl who was afraid of physical challenges? So glad she's gone...
Monday, August 20, 2012
In my last, long-ago blog entry, I was riding a wave of optimism. The wave has completely dissipated. :-( Now I am just nervous as heck.
My second half-marathon is 6 days away--Sunday, August 26th. After my triathlon, I went back to running more miles and some more intense workouts, but it seems like my speed vanished. Every run has felt hard. I am feeling very underprepared.
It doesn't help that I drove the course for this half, and it is very hilly. I'm no longer shooting for a PR, I'd just like to finish this one. I'm totally psyching myself out, and I shouldn't even go for a long run to work it out. I need to find ways to keep from going crazy this week.
Edited to add: A friend won a free entry to this half-marathon that she can't use, so my daughter used it, WOOT! Now I will have somebody to run with me and pump me up. My DD is usually faster than me, but she hasn't really been training for a half (though she runs 20 miles per week) so we will be able to run together. I'm feeling a teensy bit better about this race now.
Monday, July 09, 2012
Wow! I completed my very first sprint triathlon on Saturday, July 7th. 0.4 mile swim, 8 mile bike and 4 mile run. I finished in 1:28:08. My goal was to complete in an hour and a half, so I beat my goal time, WOOT! The best part was that I actually achieved a PR in the 4 mile run, despite the swimming and biking beforehand--my run time was 36:36, or a 9:09 per mile pace. My previous best 4 mile run was in 38:07 back in March. I'm very happy that my training is paying off in ways that I can see.
I'm also very happy to have set physical goals for the year and accomplished them. There have certainly not been many times in my life that I have set physical goals for myself, and even fewer that I have actually achieved. In fact, I can think of NONE that I actually achieved; until now. My 2012 goals were:
1) complete a half-marathon. DONE 4/28/2012
2) run a 5K in under 30 minutes. DONE, 4/21/2012
3) complete a sprint triathlon. DONE, 7/7/2012.
I guess it's time to set some new goals! I haven't looked far enough ahead to figure this out completely, but I know that I would like to set a PR for my hlaf-marathon on August 26th. Since my current best time is 2:21, I'd like to set a goal of 2:15. That might be overly ambitious, but what the heck--I am riding a cloud of optimism today!
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Member Comments About This Blog Post:
Very good!
