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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Goals?

So as I was walking out of my office today I asked one of my more physically fit coworkers if he wanted to join me for a run. He declined, saying that he was already planning on hitting the gym and doing some boxing, tire pulls, and tire flips but that he might join me in a run one day. He then asked me what I was currently training for. This is something Ive been tossing around in my poorly shaped head for some time now. I have several goals, but Im afraid that most of them are counter productive to each other. Examples....

Goal number 1.
Finish in the 1:30's in the Hottest Half half marathon in August. This equates to a low 7 minute mile pace. My last half marathon was finished in 1:43 which is a 7:51 pace. So its a significant drop. Ill need to work on both speed and endurance for this race. I already have a pretty high tolerance for heat and humidity.


Goal number 2.
Run the Rocky Raccoon 50 mile ultra marathon in February. Im 99% sure that I will be able to achieve this goal baring some unforeseen streak of bad luck. I would like to finish around the 12 hour mark. That equates to roughly 14 minutes per mile, which I dont think will be too difficult. Luckily the trails that are ran in the race are nearly identical to the trails that I run on around my house. Plus I know of a few other people that have this race in their sights as well, like fellow minimalist / barefoot runner Dave Horn, so we will be able to provide motivation for others (and ourselves) who plan to run their first 50 mile ultra. To achieve this I will need to focus on endurance and what it feels like to be A) on my feet that long, B) running at that slow of a pace, and C) the proper way for me to fuel for a run this demanding.

Goal number 3.
After the 50 miler I want to start tackling speed. I want to go back in the sub 5 minute mile range and a pretty decent 5K (as in fast enough to be a competitor in most races) This goal will require a whole lot of speed work and not so much endurance work.

I know all of these can be accomplished. Look at one of my running idols, Patrick Sweeney. He has ran 100 mile ultras and can throw down some amazingly fast times in the shorter distances as well. I guess I just need a little patience to achieve all my goals and be a very well rounded runner.

1 comment:

  1. Nice goals. My goal is a lot slower for the HH but faster for the RR, so we will see how that goes. Good luck!

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