Looking Ahead

Last night and today I've spent some time looking towards the future, not the the distant future, but that which will occur in the next 2-4 months. I wanted to get it straight in my head of what I really want to accomplish in regards to my running and to what level I want to take my commitment to. I've been torn on how to plan and set goals due to the lack of time during the day. So today I've come up with a plan and some goals:

1. Run the Thanksgiving 5k. This has always been my plan, but originally my race goal has been to run it in a sub 33 min. That hasn't changed, BUT I'm adding a 'stretch' goal here with a sub 31 min run. I've mentioned before I'll be running this with Alex and Eddie. Alex will run this in approximately 24 mins, Eddie right now I have no clue. Back in July he pulled me in at 36 mins but I think 31 mins is pushing it for him. I'll submit a full race report (hopefully with pictures) after this event.

2. Run a 60 mile month in November. This is pretty straight forward - I might do this for October, but November is the key here. Right now my legs feel pretty strong, and everyday I feel like I'm getting stronger.

3. Get down to 200 lbs by Thanksgiving. That's about 13 lbs right now as we speak. Last week I lost 3 lbs so this is (in theory) an doable goal. I'm sick to my stomach knowing I've inched up to 213 lbs. Also I've read somewhere that for every pound you lose you'll decrease your mile time by 3 seconds. (Could I really get down to a low 8 min mile by losing the weight and training?) I'll run a mile TT the day after Thanksgiving and write a report.

Looking into December:

1. Run at least 55 miles in the month of December. (Now I may increase this once I'm getting close to finishing November, but I want to make this realistic for the time being.)

2. Run a sub 30:30 before by 37th birthday on 12/29/08. Also I'll run a 5k training TT on my birthday and submit a report on how that goes.

3. Run the x-terra 5k Crystal Cove race in mid December. I've never run a trail race before so I'm not sure what to expect, but I think this would be a good experience, and a challenge for me. Right now I don't have any expectations for this race so no target time is listed right now, but maybe sometime next month I'll get out there and run this course to get a feel for it. Last year's winning times reflect a VERY tough course. I'll post a race report along with pictures here also.

Now beyond the end of the year, I haven't really decided what to do just yet. May of 2009 has a 1/2 Mary that is local that I've always wanted to run (I always choose the 5k here). So maybe I'll start gearing towards that. Or I will continue to try to lower my 5k times..... Honestly I think I have some speed left in me and could log a low 20 min 5k with more (serious) training. The weight would have to continue to come off for this to happen, but I think I can do that. Also I have to plan for our family trip in Feb 2009. Maybe I can find a run in Maui during that time.

Keep Steppin'
Bob