Nike Women's Half Marathon Goals

When I signed up for this race my only goal was to break two hours. Over the next month or two my goal became to train hard and see what I could do. Now, 15 weeks since starting training, I can say that my goal remains the same. On one side this excites me. On the other side it scares me. After only a few weeks of training I was certain I would break two hours. My PR is 2:03 so that shouldn't be a problem. I haven't had another time goal in mind throughout my training though. I've just trained hard with the intent of getting as fast as possible.

I could be way out of line here but I based my goal times based on my paces for my long runs and the 10 miler I did a few weeks ago.

A Goal: Sub 1:52
B Goal: Sub 1:55
C Goal: Sub 2:00

I am expecting my time to be somewhere between 1:50-1:55 depending on how I feel on Sunday. Two weekends ago I ran a little over 13 miles with my half marathon split coming in somewhere around 1:52-1:53. While this run was not terribly hard I did push the pace and did this as an interval sort of run. I also stopped 3 (?) times to go to the bathroom and stretch when my hip started tightening up. I also know the race course is always longer.

DC in November for an event with the Russian embassy

And then there is the issue of water stops. During every race I have done so far I have stopped at the aid stations. I think stopping for a few seconds helps me feel better throughout the race. During my 10 miler I noticed that I added 15-25 seconds at each water stop. I think there are 5+ water stops during the race this weekend, which could add up to more than a minute wasted. I didn't want to carry water with me in case I want to toss my bottle (I am really picky about my water being cold when I run so I will only run with an insulated bottle). As you can probably tell, I'm still trying to figure out what to do about this.

Sunset on my way home. Picture doesn't do it justice

While I love having a time goal to shoot for, I don't think it's healthy to only focus on your time. I like to have some non-time goals so that if I don't reach that goal I can still call my race a success.

Stay calm when something goes wrong, because it inevitably will. Minutes before the start of the Capital 10 Miler I found out that one of the earbuds on my headphones had fallen off. I freaked out since I had been doing all of my long or hard workouts with music. I started to panic and ended up spending the time I should have spent stretching rigging my headphones so they would stay in my ears. I showed up to the race start with about a minute to spare.

I am trying to be as prepared as possible going into this weekend but inevitably something will go wrong. My guess is it will have something to do with navigating DC. At that point I won't be able to make any changes so I need to roll with the punches and move on. Quickly.

Ignore negative thoughts. Another thing that I have learned is inevitable is negative self-talk. Even during my best races a few negative thoughts have creeped in here or there. I want to recognize that it's going to happen and just ignore them.When you start to listen to your negative thoughts is when you will blow your race.

Leave everything out on the course. Although I do have some time goals, my biggest goal is to go as hard as I can. If I finish in a time slower than I thought but I pushed myself to the end I will be happy. I don't want to finish the race and be able to run around later that day with my dog. I want to be tired. I want to give everything I have and see where that puts me.

I have one run left tomorrow and am off to the expo now. Good luck everyone racing this weekend!

2013 Goals

Happy New Year! I can't believe 2012 is already over. It was a great year but I know that 2013 will be even better. I have some big goals for 2013 and after eating way too many sweets and taking a nice break from running this holiday season I'm anxious and ready to get back to work. This year I've decided to take my approach to New Year's resolutions a little differently though.

After realizing that 12 months is too long of a time to allow myself to achieve certain goals I decided to break my 2013 goals up. I set some goals for the entire year, some first the first half, and some for the second half. I am primarily focusing on my goals for between January 1 and June 30 and then will reassess for the rest of the year.

Goals for first half of year

• Sub 2:00 Half Marathon. This is my number one goal running wise going into 2013. I ran a 2:03 half unrested in October during the middle of marathon training which tells me with some sub 2:00 specific training this one should be in the bag. Not only do I want to break 2:00 I want to crush it. I am making some big changes to my training (more info to come) this year and know that I am capable of more than just a 3 minute PR. 

• Spend the day hiking in Patapsco State Park. This past fall I spent a lot of time running the trails of Patapsco and completely fell in love with the park. It is the perfect place to escape my less than pleasant neighborhood at school and destress. I was hoping to get a chance to go hiking here in December but finals seemed to suck up all of my time. This goal is for pure enjoyment.

• Do at least one early morning workout a week. I used to naturally wake up early as a child and had morning practices and school to thank for my early wake up calls as a teenager. Lately I have been sleeping in later and later and then find too many things that need to be done and before I know it I have run out of daylight. I think comitting to one morning workout a week is a doable way to start transitioning to workout out almost every morning.

• Get INDS proposal passed. This has nothing to do with running or working out but it may be the most important goal I have. I am majoring in interdisciplinary studies, which means that I essentially design my own major. There are a few core classes that all INDS majors are required to take but the rest of the classes are chosen by me and my advisors. In order to make sure students are on the right track it is required to write up a proposal and have it approved by a committee. It sounds a lot more simple than it really is unfortunately. It is a long and complicated process and I am hoping to have it all taken care of by mid-March (fingers crossed).

Goals for the whole year

• PR in the 5K. I mentioned awhile ago that I ran a 24:29 5K back in high school when I was still swimming 15+ hours a week. My 5K PR since starting running is a 25:41 that I ran this past year a week and a half after my first marathon. It was also my first run since the marathon. After trying to ignore my real 5K PR I have come to accept it and now I want to beat it. This is not a primary running goal for me but I would still like to set a real PR this year. I am hoping to run a 5K in the spring but I don't feel any pressure to get this done ASAP.

• Train with higher mileage & hit a 50 mile week. I have always been afraid to run a lot. I normally run 3-4 times a week with a lot of cross training thrown in. I have long term goals that require that I start building my endurance and get used to running more. I also know that one of the best ways to get better at running is to run more. I am sure I will hit this goal during marathon training in the fall but I want to train with higher mileage in general all year.

• Run 1,000 miles. This goes along with running higher mileage. I think this is a doable goal and because I am a numbers person it is something that makes me excited to train more. 

• Sub 3:00 Olympic Triathlon. Along with running I am looking to make big improvements to my triathlon racing. I finished my first Olympic distance triathlon in 3:37 but I also walked almost the entire run because it was abnormally hot that weekend. Coupled with my new & improved running training I think this is a good goal to work towards. I don't know if it is realistic for me or not but I'm sure going to try.

• 4.00 GPA. I have always come close but have never actually had a perfect GPA. 2013 consists of two semsters which means two chances to make this happen. Even if I fail at least I should still be rewarded with a solid GPA.

• Read 10 books. I love reading but often get caught up in the madness that is social media and spend way too much time on the computer. Reading is a stress reliever for me and lets my mind wander and dream. 

Planning Ahead: Spring 2013

As sad as I get when a training cycle comes to an end, I am even more excited about what will be coming next. After I finished the Harrisburg Marathon I found myself with no races on my calendar except for the Thanksgiving turkey trot I'm running. With the cancellation of this year's NYC Marathon there is a good chance I will receive guaranteed entry into next year's race but that is just speculation as of now.

I tossed back & forth the idea of running the Pittsburgh Marathon in the beginning of May but wasn't sure if running another marathon so soon was a good idea. Regardless of whether I run the NYC Marathon next year or not, I still want to run a fall marathon and I worried that 3 marathons in 12 months wasn't a smart move.

While I am typically a person with a plan I try not to plan to far ahead. I try to live in the moment as much as possible. I do want to spend more time training for triathlons this year though. My ultimate goal is to do an Ironman and I think the best way to start that journey is to establish a base and get comfortable racing sprint and Olympic distance triathlons first. I also really like focusing on different things throughout the year to prevent burnout. If I ran the Pittsburgh Marathon I wouldn't have much time for triathlon training because of the longer recovery time associated with marathons.

Last spring I ran the Rock N' Roll USA Half Marathon in DC but didn't completely love this race. I didn't want to travel for a race but wasn't getting excited for any of the races around. I ran 3 half marathons in 2012 and between those 3 dropped 20 minutes. My current half marathon PR is 2:03:00 and now I am itching to break two hours.

Enter the Nike Women's Half Marathon. I found out about this race back in September but thought I would have to enter the lottery in order to get a spot. The race is also pretty pricey for a half marathon at $160. Earlier this week I found out about the college registration that is both guaranteed and only $125. Three cheers for being in college! I registered for this race hours after registration opened on Friday and am beyond excited. Spring 2013 is all about running a fast half marathon. Bring it on!