I think the best part of being a fairly “new” runner (began in March 09) is that I can realistically expect to PR in every distance in 2010 :)

Do you set goals for each year of running? Or do you play things by ear? Leave a comment!

Racing Goals

1. Complete my first marathon on March 20 2010 at the National Marathon in DC
2. Run a 10k in 52:49 (8:30 pace)
3. Run a 5k in 24:51 (8:00 pace)
4. Run a mile in 6:45

Strength Goals

1. Do upper body / core workouts 20 min 3x a week – if I can do this for 4 weeks I will register for a half marathon as a reward!
2. Complete the 100 pushups challenge

Other Goals

1. Participate in a relay – seriously how fun would this be? I’m really hoping to get together a team from my local trail running club to do one of the local fall relays.
2. Volunteer at a race

It started this past Spring Break, when I joined my mom for a very uncharacteristic beach vacation to Jamaica:

Not being much of a “snooze by the oceanside” person, I decided to get up early in the mornings for the morning walk, a three-mile powerwalk along the hilly golf course next to our hotel. About halfway through the first one, I thought to myself “I could run this…” and so I did. And the next day I ran a little more of it, and so on. By the time I got back to Maryland, I was ready to go to our local running shop and buy a pair of real running shoes.
Since then, I’ve run in a 5k and a 10k, and have gotten onto a schedule of running 5 days a week. I do my runs in the morning, when I’m least likely to argue with myself about heading out. It’s also way cooler at 5:00am than at 5:00pm. I’ll be running the Charlottesville Fall Classic 10k this fall and hope to beat my old 10k time!

From time to time I’ll post information here about how my running is going. Right now I’m running between 25-30 miles a week, and my average pace is around 9:30 min/mile.

If you’re a runner, make sure to check me out on dailymile. It’s a great community and an awesome tool for training. I love to read about the triumphs and struggles of other runners, and the forums are always a great place to share tips or ask a question.