2012 Goals

I struggled for a while to decide on my goals for 2012, mainly because I had been fixated on running a Marathon for such a long time that I hadn't really looked past it.

Before I had even got to the start line of the Marathon, I knew it would be a long time before I trained for and ran another one. It just takes too much time out of my limited time with my family (long runs on Sunday could take 5 hours without adding time for a shower and then an afternoon nap).

With that in mind, I will be sticking to the shorter distances in 2012 and turning my focus to running faster. I feel that I can improve on all of my PR's with some training that is focused on improving my speed (and form). Add in losing 5 lbs and we have the following:

1. Run a 19:XX (or better) 5K. Given that my 5K PR is currently 20:42, this might be too much of an improvement to hope for in one year, but there isn't much point setting a goal that I can achieve easily! There are lots of 5K's in the area so I probably won't train with a particular one in mind (at least in the first half of the year) and will just pick one when I think I am ready.

2. Run a 1:09:XX (or better) 10 miler. I ran a Half Marathon @7:22/mile, so running 10 miles @6:59/mile is certainly achievable on the American Tobacco Trail course. 10 mile races are few and far between, so this attempt will have to be at the ATT 10-miler in October.

3. Run a 1:33:XX (or better) Half Marathon. This would be an improvement of 12 seconds per mile so is probably the most achievable of my running pace goals for 2012. My long term goal for the Half Marathon is to run at sub 7:00/mile, but I think a 22 second per mile improvement in one year is too much to ask for. I am toying with the idea of running a April Half Marathon and am already signed up to run in Richmond, VA in November (which is mostly flat with a downhill finish).

4. Get my weight down to 150lbs and keep it there!