Big Fall Goals

I have some big goals, some of them I've shared on here before, some of them I've kept, and will keep, to myself. I've very driven by goals, and have always been someone who has no problem setting goals and then working my butt off to achieve them. I was texting one of my running buddies, Courtney, the other day while ice bathing, and we were talking about fall race plans. She asked if I ended up deciding on a fall marathon and I said no, but that I was shooting for a half PR.

Uff da.

Saying it outloud makes it seem real and scary and really scary. My half marathon PR is from April 2011. It was in the middle of marathon training, while training for my third marathon. At that point in my running, I had two years of really strong, insanely consistent running under my belt. The time period of 2010-2011 is arguably the best distance shape I've ever been in.

So to look at this goal, it seems a little crazy on paper. My last half marathon was a 2:05. To take off 15 minutes from that time in six months, might seem impossible.

It has been so long since I've even thought a PR could be possible, that I'm letting the craziness take root and not be freaked out by it.

I've been running fairly consistently now for the past year and a half INJURY FREE. This is huge. I've added in functional strength training that has 100% changed my body's power, speed, and ability to hold up over longer distances. I've learned SO MUCH about running, and training, and injury prevention in the past 7 years, and using that knowledge has kept me healthy as well.

Additionally, training through the obnoxious heat in the summer here and then traveling to the east in mid-November for my goal race will only help me reach my goals.

Overall, I'm really excited to have big goals again, because that means I'm putting in the work to make them seem feasible. Regardless of if I PR in November, I'm just so darn excited to be running healthy and strong and loving running enough to be putting all the time and effort into the sport again.

BQ Dreams

A couple of weeks ago, a newer running friend sent me a text that said, "I think I'm crazy; I want to sign up for a marathon." She's currently training for her first half. To which I responded, "There's nothing crazy about that! I've been thinking a lot about my BIG goal of a BQ and according to my last marathon time, I have 90 minutes to take off my time!"

There's no goal too big. (<--new rule)

When I first started running marathons in 2010, I had visions of a BQ dancing in my head. So many of the bloggers I was following were chasing BQs and seemed to take about ten minutes off their marathon time each time they ran one, so I assumed that by my 3rd marathon, I'd be making my first BQ attempt as well. Lolz. My first marathon was a 4:12. My second was a 4:31, then 4:25. Seven marathons later, my first is still my fastest. By a lot, especially compared to my last few marathons, one barely sub 5 and a couple significantly over.

I purchased a Believe Training Journal last fall and I loved the goals section. I am such a goal-oriented person. When setting goals, I usually focus on ones that are attainable in the short term, my next race goal time, mileage goals, etc. But the journal gave me some inspiration to dream bigger. I know that if I can stay healthy, run consistent mileage, and build some stronger endurance on top of speedy legs, I can qualify for Boston. This is in no way a short-term goal, but it helps propel me forward on the days where I don't want to go out and do an easy 3-4 miler. What does it matter if I do 3-4 miles easy on any given day? Well it helps build that foundation of consistent running and mileage that adds up over time.

While running with Toni a couple of weeks ago, the topic of marathons came up. I told her that my next one would be in the fall of 2018. I hope to do some higher mileage training programs for the half marathon to whittle my speed down while building that endurance base for the next year or so before diving in to marathon training. She mentioned that maybe by then *she'd* be interested in running a marathon.

Bingo.

THIS HAS BEEN PRECISELY MY PLAN. MUHAHAHAHHA.

jk.

kinda.

I told her how I had hoped to smash my sub 4 goal for that race, and even offered to pay her race entry if she wanted to pace me to it, then realizing that she can't possibly pace *me* in her first marathon, because that would be craziness. (Um... now taking applications for a pacing buddy....) But then maybe the next go around, we can train for a BQ together. By that point, I'll have an extra 5 minutes toward qualifying, and for some reason a sub 3:40 doesn't sound horrific but a sub 3:35 sure does. Go figure.

Then I gave her the run down of what races we would be doing and basically planned out the next 3.5 years of running for her. Boston 2020 yo!

I was assuring her she could handle marathon training, because it's very similar to what we're doing but with a longer long run on the weekends. At one point she paused, and said, "You could be training me for a marathon right now and I wouldn't even know it!" with a nervous laughter. "How do you know I'm not?!" Surprise! Check your email for a race confirmation! jk.... for now.

yay goals and brf.