Trick or Treat Trail Run Race Goals

I went back and forth for quite a few weeks about running the 5k or the 10k for the Trick or Treat race. It's the weekend before my half marathon, and it's in costume, so both were weighing on my decision making. On one hand, I thought I'd be better suited for a 10k, given I've been training for a 10 mile and half marathon this fall, but thought that maybe my legs would still be recovering into race week and I didn't want that. Toni had planned to do the 5k, which swayed me slightly, and once I found a costume, I was all in on the 5k train. Plus the fall "5ks" I've been running are more 3 milers, so I was curious what I could do for a legit 3.1 miles.

My best legit 5k (only) of the year was the Purple Stride 5k in June in sweltering heat and humidity. I ran an 8:40 pace for a 25:41. My best 3ish mile this year was the last one of the Parks and Rec series, which was a 7:57 pace for 23:04 on a 2.91 mile course. Most of my 3 mile efforts have been in the 8:20s 24:58-25:08.

A goal: If it's a nice cool day, I'd really like to see if I can maintain a sub 8 pace for a full 3.1 miles. I was able to do it for 2.91 with zero people running near me (Toni finished 90 seconds ahead of me, so I was 100% pushing myself). I'd like to think that the competitive part of my brain can pull me through for another .2 miles, right? A 7:59 on an exact course would be 24:48.

B goal: This one doesn't give me much wiggle room from A to B, but I would like to be under 25 minutes. Back when I was racing 5ks a lot, it was such a huge deal the first time I went under 25, and I even won a 5k in a low low 24 once. It'd be awesome to be in this time range for having been working on longer distances and nothing specific to 5k speed training.

C goal: Earlier this summer, I had written down a goal for a 25:30 5k time. And then the 2 legit 5ks I raced were in the hottest of hot days so I wasn't anywhere close. I think even if it's a warmer late October day, I should be able to do dig for that sub 8:15 pace.

Stay tuned for my costume!

Sioux Falls Parks and Rec Race Goals

I was feeling really great after the Sioux Falls half marathon. I finished strong, a good chunk of the "race" was in recovery heart rate zone because my fitness has improved so much this summer (!!), and it was the first half marathon I've done in quite some time that I thought, upon finishing, I could totally do 26.2 today.

Whoa.

That's exciting.

But once the dust settled, I caught myself thinking, hmmm.... I wonder what I would've ran if I had raced the course. Could I have broken 2? I think I'm in shape for it, but it's a hard course, and it was incredibly humid. Would the humidity have effected me if I was running harder?

And then I started looking at my goal time for the Twin Cities 10 Mile. Fun fact: last June, before we started training for the race, I wrote down a goal time for TC10 and the November half marathon on a sticky note and hung it up in my locker at work. I paid it no attention for the past few months, only to re-calculate a goal time based on some other data and realized that it matched up.... exactly. Well that's creepy.

So, when I was looking at my goal time, I started to panic a little. Why are goal paces so terrifying?? I looked at McMillans calculator and saw that an 8:08 paced 5k would translate to my goal time. That seems doable. All of my 3k-5k paced speedwork has been in the 7:49-8:10 range.

And then I remembered that our Parks and Rec was putting on a 5k Monday evening. We can't go to most of them this fall since we're training for TC10, but I thought a quick little 3 mile tune up race might be that final mental push to get my brain committed to thinking that I *can* do the goal time I have laid out. I've been running #ALLTHEMILES this year, but I haven't been racing much, so I'm really lacking that strength and ability to know I can push through the suck that comes with racing more frequently.

Tonight I'll be lining up for a 5k (or probably 3 mile, as it tends to be a short course) and seeing what these legs have in them. An 8:08 would be perfect. A sub 8 would make me do a happy dance (I couldn't even tell you the last time I had a sub 8 5k pace, maybe 2011??), and an 8:10-8:15 would even make me happy since we've ran a lot of miles the last few months.

Stay tuned!

Firecracker 5k Race Goals

On Tuesday I'll be racing in a local Firecracker race. I had originally planned/wanted to do the 10k as there are very few 10ks around here. But after I missed the last 5k in the Parks and Rec series due to an angry back, I decided I wanted to line up for the 5k instead. Also the humidity was going to be out of control again (as per usual) and it seems way easier to wrap my brain around running hard for 3 miles vs 6.

The last two 5ks I ran were short courses, at 3 miles, paces at 8:57 and 8:22. The 5k I ran earlier in June was 8:40 pace. I'd really like to be under 8:15 pace for this 5k, as close to 8 as possible. I've done zero speedwork so who knows if this is feasible, but I know it'll be significantly cooler at this race than it was for the one I ran 8:22 pace for. However, the humidity will be intense, soooo we'll see.

Excited to see what my legs can do!

Harrisburg 5k Race Goals

About a week ago, I decided to drop from the 10k to the 5k for this race. I know I can complete a 10k this weekend, but as far as a solid race is concerned, I know I'm not yet into 10k race shape. I'm working on some issues with my left glute and my form is still struggling when I did into the 5-6 mile range.

With that being said, I have spent some decent runs going "fast" for me. I haven't done any targeted speedwork, per say, but I have spent some time each week running faster than normal. My runs have been faster overall since I've been running shorter amounts.

My goal for tomorrow's 5k is to run faster than the last 5k I ran back in November which was a 27:30. A sub 27 would be top notch, but I'm not sure that I'm in that shape. I guess we'll find out tomorrow!

Harrisburg 5k Race Goals

Originally, tomorrow's 10k race was supposed to be my final "spring" race before I started marathon training. This was back when I thought the 10k was the same day/weekend as the Swan Lake Marathon. After I realized it wasn't, after I had registered for the 10k, I decided I'd rather race a half to attempt sub-2 yet again (fail) instead of a fast 10k time. Well, if I had realized how difficult the half course was, I may have stuck with my original plan! Oh well.

With that being said, I'm not sure what my legs will be up for tomorrow. They're definitely still recovering from the half, but I'm not sure *how* recovered they are. I emailed my buddy Tom, the race director, to see if I could switch from the 10k to the 5k, and he said that would be fine.

If all goes well, I'd like to run a faster time than the St. Patty's Day 5k that I ran in March: 26:17 (8:29 pace). My last set of mile repeats averaged 8:17, so that would be my top range goal assuming my legs are 100% recovered (which I'm seriously doubting, but I wouldn't be mad if they were!).

That would be a 25:40. I'd enjoy a sub 26 as well (8:23 pace. And if my legs just feel like crap and I do a 3.1 mile run through Harrisburg for fun tomorrow morning, that'll be alright too. After all, marathon training starts Monday!!!

First Race as a 30 Year Old

Wowsers, tomorrow marks my first race in the 30-39 category. *gulp* I absolutely love St. Patty's day and have run our local St. Patty's day race(s) for most of the years that I've been a runner (2007 5k, 2009 5k, 2010 5 mile, 2011 Irishman [5 mile, 5k, 1 mile]). I haven't done it the last couple of years for a number of reasons. The cost of the race has gotten really high. Most local halfs are $35-40 if you sign up by the early bird deadline, and the 5k and 5 mile cost the same as that.

One year that I ran the race there was extreme flooding, and the route wasn't changed, so runners had to go through mud that was inches deep, another year they started the route on a sidewalk instead of a road because they didn't get road closure permits, and with 100s of runners starting in that much congestion, it was a $#!t show to say the least.

I will say that this race does always have pretty killer long sleeve technical race shirts. They are some of my fave in my training shirt rotation.

This year, I'm racing a half in NYC the weekend after the St. Patty's day races. While tooling around on our local race schedule website, I found a Free Rebel Run planned for the same day as the St. Patty's day races. And it's free, as its name suggests. I convinced my friend Jenn to run it as well. Shockingly, the race day weather looks pretty great.

I haven't ran a 5k in...... over 2.5 years. Hah, and I know I won't be anywhere near a PR. But I would like to have a strong run that gives me confidence going in to my half marathon the following weekend. Since I'm hoping for a sub-2 slash close to 2 hour half next weekend, my goals for this 5k per McMillan race predictor are:

25:29 (8:12 pace) to 26:21 (8:29 pace)

As I'm seeing those paces, that doesn't seem like it should be hard, but my tempo paces have only been in the low 9's. However, after looking over my training log, I have had a set of mile repeats near the 8:30 range, so we'll see!

Regardless I'm excited to get out there in all my green glory to celebrate my favorite holiday with a hard effort run.

(OMG I loved those shoes. Fave running shoes EVER.)