Week 1 in Review

It's been just over a week since 2012 began and (so far) I've kept on track with my goals for 2012.

I was active for at least 4 days this week. I played dodgeball Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night. I played football with friends on Saturday morning. And I ran a 5k on Sunday morning (race for January DONE). This led me into achieving (kind of) another one of my goals: break 24 minutes in the 5k!

Sunday morning, I picked Corey up way too early to head to the Frostbite 5k in Quincy, MA. We got to the YMCA that was hosting the event with more than an hour to spare - better early than late I guess. After warming up sitting and chatting for over an hour, we finally toed the start line.

As usual, I hadn't checked out the course map ahead of time because I don't like to know what lies ahead. I didn't wear my Garmin either, which meant I was running entirely by feel. This was my plan since I had only run at most 5 times in December.

I started out fast and could see the lead runners in the distance for the first half mile. However, the course had us turning onto a lot of side streets so eventually I lost them. The entire race felt challenging. I pushed myself as hard as I could. About 2 miles into the race, we hit an incline that was steep enough to force some people around me to walk. I wanted to join them but I thought I was keeping a pretty good pace and wanted to see what I could pull off with no training.

Before I knew it, I came around a corner and could see the high school that the finish line was across from in the distance. I didn't think I had any kick left in me, until I saw the clock from far away with a 22:XX on it. I couldn't believe it. I had a chance to break 24 minutes. I pushed with everything I had left and crossed the finish line in 23:25. I was stoked (after I stopped dry-heaving), but I was almost immediately certain that the course was short.

After going inside, Corey and I confirmed it with another runner who came in the top 3. He wasn't certain but said he'd guess it was between .1-.2 miles short. I was bummed because I really wanted to break 24 minutes and knew that if it had been the actual distance, I would have just missed it. Corey and I checked our times after they were posted (he came out 14th overall - speedy gonzales!) and headed home.

So I technically broke 24 minutes in the 5k, but after mapping out the course today and finding that it was exactly 3 miles, I'm not crossing this goal off yet. We're planning to run another 5k in February so I'm going to do some speed work this month in an attempt to officially break 24 minutes!

Overall: 63/260
Age Group: 4/29
Gender: 18/152

New Year - New Goals!

The New Year will be here in a mere 8 hours. Last year I set one goal and failed within the first month. This year, I'm hoping that if I write the goals down and share them with someone, I'll be more likely to stick to them. So without further ado...

Goal #1: Run one race a month. This can be anything from a road race, to a scavenger hunt to a triathalon. This coming year has lots of fun in store with a Zombie 5k, Urban Iditarod, and Tough Mudder already on the agenda. Luckily I've got lots of great, active friends who are joining me in this pursuit, so it should be a wonderful time!

Goal #2: Break 24 minutes in the 5k. Right now my 5k PR is 24:19. It's from October 2009. I was in the best shape of my (short) life then and just happened to hit this time. If I want to break 24 minutes this year, it'll take some focused training to do so! I'm hoping to start this training in January so I can knock this goal out in the late winter/early spring time so I can move onto my next goal...

Goal #3: Break 2 hours in the half-marathon. I've run 4 halves in the past year and a half. Each (official) one has gotten faster but my fastest is only 2:11 at RnR Providence. This half was not run as a race, but as a long run for my marathon. While I wasn't running my hardest or fastest at the time, I don't think I could have broken 2 hours if I tried. Again, this goal will take some focused training, but I think it's possible towards the late summer/early fall time of 2012.

Goal #4: Complete a marathon. If all goes well with Goals #2 & #3, I'd like to attempt 26.2 again in 2012. I tried it in 2011, but it didn't end well. An injury, failure to properly train, and pre-race and race day factors all caused me to drop out after 14 miles (my un-official 4th half in my eyes). My goal is to train smart and hopefully complete a full marathon in late fall/early winter. However, I want to be prepared for this race, so if I don't feel like I can race it well, I'll put this one on hold until 2013.

Goal #5: Be active at least 4 days a week. Like most, I have a love/hate relationship with both running and the gym. There are weeks where I never take a break from either and then there are weeks where I never once lace up the sneaks or set foot inside the gym. Therefore, my goal for the year is not to run or lift 4 times a week, but stay active. This could mean going for a walk, playing dodgeball or anything else that gets the blood pumping!

Goal #6: Put myself out there more. I tend to embrace routine and stay away from change. I avoid situations if I think they'll make me uncomfortable or feel awkward. However, I'd like to be more adventurous this year and try some new things: whether it be new sports, new hangouts or anything else that wouldn't normally strike my fancy.

I think that's good enough for now! I may add a few if I think of something I'd really like to do, but six goals seems like more than enough to focus on for one year! Here's to a wonderful 2012!