Tag Archive | half marathon

Focusing and Goals

Jan8

Questionmark-240x300January 2, 2014 I had my first training session of the year with my trainer and while we were discussing some of my grand scheme goals, the idea of what do I really want to accomplish came up during the session. Before the year started, I already had a running goal in mind. I also had some ideas of things I wanted to accomplish otherwise as well. But now, I need to figure those goals out concretely and figure out a plan of attack.

I suppose the number one goal is to get to the number I have been “dreaming” about on the scale. I’m much closer than I was at the start of last year. And while I should have met that number last year, I’m ok that it didn’t happen. It was aggressive to meet but now I think it can happen.

At my session, we were kind of brainstorming some things I should try to do this year. For instance, one of the things is to go shopping for clothing that is not workout related. I hate shopping and I really desperately need to buy some clothes that fit. Just about everything I own is way too big. However given my past shopping experiences I always dread it because while I may be smaller, things still never fit. So it is beyond frustrating to shop for something new. However, I should probably try to not look like a slob when I am not working out. Continue reading →

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Almost Done it All

Nov17

This past weekend I ran a 10K. It was supposed to be a 10-miler, but it was just a day that 10 miles wasn’t going to happen. It was also a chance for me to look back over the year of running and see exactly what I have accomplished.

After my hometown beotch “disaster,” I could look at the year as such a huge disappointment. However if I am realistic about it, it was a fantastic year of running for me. I ran pretty much every distance there is to do in some form or fashion. Maybe not necessarily as a race, but definitely putting in those miles in some capacity.

I started the year off with a 5K on New Year’s Day. Then a few months later I did a 10K. Then an 8K. A 5-miler. A half marathon. A 20-mile training run. An attempt at 26.2. Then another 5K and most recently a 10K.

Each race I managed to do something fun, in that I shaved time off of previous bests at these various distances. November 5th, I ran a 5K race. It was my first race since the Chicago Marathon. And I destroyed my prior best 5k time. When I say destroyed it, I mean that my previous mile splits were along the lines of 13 minutes per mile. In that 5K, I was averaging 10:55 per mile with at least one sub nine minute mile. All in all, I ran that 5K in just under 31 minutes. Continue reading →

Personal Demons

Oct9

My body hates me. Or at least refuses to cooperate when it comes to me doing certain things. Today, that thing was the Chicago Marathon. Temperatures were higher than anyone wanted. I could deal with them though. It was cooler than when I started, yet I would have loved for it to be much cooler than it was. Things did heat up as the day went along. Way too much for my tastes.

Things didn’t really start off the best in the race. For some reason, my heel and ankle on my right foot were bothering me early on. I probably had indication of this yesterday when I did an easy two-mile run as my last run before the big race. I had a twinge of something yesterday, but was chalking it up to last-minute nerves and stress. I really felt that thing would be fantastic on race day. Continue reading →

Accomplishment

May7

2nd most important piece of running equipment

Today I ran a five-mile race along the lakefront on the south side in Chicago. It was a good day. It was also my birthday, so it was great way to start out a new year of my life (ugh). I actually have done two races this week, with a neighborhood 5K this past sunday and then today’s five-miler.

The massive positives. In April, I ran an 8K (4.97 miles) race. It was the official start of the race season. My time wasn’t great for that race, but I was ok with that. It was my first time at the distance in a race. This despite having run 5Ks, 1/2 marathons and attempting a full marathon. It was also a bit warmer than I prefer for running in general. Though, making excuses shouldn’t be allowed. Anyway, today I shaved almost 2:30 off my five-mile finish time. That right there is huge. I went a slightly farther distance and I ran it faster. Continue reading →