Normally as I am writing this annual post, I have just about planned my entire year of racing and have entered most of the events. However this year is a bit different and in some ways a bit strange. For several reasons which I just won't be going into I have lost my motivation to look forward to a few events and find that I have no interest now to plan on doing them anytime in the forseeable future. Don't get me wrong ! I have not lost my motivation for running ! In fact I still have a burning desire to train to do my best and I look forward to my everyday runs and workouts. I still have some serious goals and I am working harder than ever to achieve them. It's just that some changes have occured which I have no control over that are going to make things a lot different.
One good change is I have over the past couple of months had some new friends and training partners that are dedicated to helping push and inspire me to be the absolute best that I can be this year and I am looking forward to sharing those miles with them and you can hopefully look for the results in this blog.
Before I get into the specific events that I do have planned let me mention a couple of goals I am aiming for. First is to get a Boston qualifier. Actually I think I can get that pretty easily since I can now qualify at the easier 60 and over standard of 3:55. But my real goal is to qualify under the 55-59 standard of 3:40 and if at all possible I still believe I have the pr sub 3:35 in me and that is the ultimate goal. The other big goal is to get my buckle at Western States.
So here we go.
January 10th I am returning for the 3rd time to The Run for Food Half Marathon at Ocean Isle Beach. I will be using this mainly as a test and workout but I do hope to have a good race and hopefully some decent weather. I would like to match the 1:39 that I ran at Tobacco Road last March but will have to wait and see if I am back to full strength yet. Hey, thats what test races are for !
February 14th I am running the Sweetheart 5k in Rocky Mount. This will be another test to see how the speed is progressing and a marker to plan more workouts in the coming months. I was able to run 22:26 on a hilly course in December so I am hoping to running in the low to mid 21's by this one.
March 22nd is the big one with The Wrightsville Beach Marathon. If things continue to go well with the training and I get lucky with the weather then I plan to go for the pr !
In April my attention will turn back to the ultra's and training begins in earnest for Western States. On April 18th I will get in a good workout at the Run The Rock 50k in Raven Rock State Park. It is a very challenging single track race that will be great training and should be a lot of fun. I used to train many miles in the park in the 80's and early 90's but haven't been back in nearly 2 decades now.
Training continues for WS in May and I am pretty sure that I will be running in the Gamelands 50k on the 23rd to get in some more ultra training and have some fun.
And then in June on the last weekend is the big one, Western States 100. As long as I can stay healthy I am confident I can take the lessons I learned there in 2007 and get myself successfully to the finish.
Beyond that I really don't have a clue what I will be doing the remainder of the year. A lot will depend on how things go at the two key races. I may be looking at a fast Fall marathon. I do have a few other goals and I may turn my focus to them. I still feel like I have another 100 mile pr in me. I would also like to try and set a 24 hour pr so that may be some options. Another thing I am mulling over is to start a redemption tour and over the next couple of years go back and finish the 100's that I have dnf'd over the years. And who knows I may just decide to focus for a few months on racing shorter distances. Well, there is one thing pretty much set in stone and that is a return to Derby 50k ! Whether I go hard or take it easy again depends on how the calender fills up after I see how WB and WS go.
So thats the plan for now. Thanks always for the support from all of you reading this and stay tuned !
2 comments:
Planning both a BQ and WS in the next six months is pretty awesome planning. I think you could take the rest of the year off and still do far more than most runners. Best wishes on all your goals!
thanks Ken ! I love shooting for the big goals ! sometimes I fail miserably but i still gotta go for it !
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