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

Marathons:

• The Big Sur International Marathon
  One look at the photos from this race and you can’t help but want to run it. Participants wind their way along Highway One between Big Sur and Carmel, along the Pacific Ocean. It’s gorgeous. Bart Yasso said that “If we were told that we could run only one marathon in our lifetime, Big Sur would have to be it.”
• The New York Marathon
  A no-brainer! I’ll definitely be entering the lottery again this year, assuming marathon #1 doesn’t cause me to swear off running forever. One of my running buddies from the Charlottesville Trail Runners Club (CTRC) just ran the NYCM this past weekend, so I’m sure I’ll be asking him about a million questions about it this Sunday during our group run.
• The San Francisco Marathon
  I love San Francisco :)

Shorter Distances:

• The Susan G Komen Global Race for the Cure (5k)
  Great cause, great crowd, great race! Enough said.
• Charlottesville 10 Miler
  This is supposed to be such a fun course through my college town – lots of people I know ran it last year and loved it. The 10 miler is such a fun distance, too!
• The 4th Year 5k
  A classic for any UVA runner!

Miscellaneous:

• A Relay
  What better way to get to know someone than to run a relay with them? There are so many good relays out there. One of the things I’d like to do is get my local trail running club to go do one as a team!
• A Mud Run
  These look like so much fun! What a great way to let loose and take a ride on the wild side.
• A Sprint Triathlon!
  The only obstacle here is that I’m sketched out by the amount of geese that live near Centennial Park, which would be the most local tri for me… somehow I think I’d be hard pressed to get into that water!

I’ll be using this training plan from Runners World, and I think I’m going to aim for an average of 10:00 miles (4:22 marathon). But I’ll be happy just to finish :) I’m very excited and I’m looking forward to the training. The first thing I need to find out is what my mileage should be before the 16 week training period begins. It looks like there are some great books out there – if I find any particularly useful ones I’ll post them here.

162 days to go!

Past Races:

5/16/2009 – Piney Orchard 5k  – PR @ 26:22
5/31/2009 – Zooma Annapolis 10k – PR @ 1:00:01
9/26/2009 – Virginia 10 Miler – PR @ 1:34:25

Upcoming Races (Registered):

10/24/2009 – Charlottesville Fall Classic 10k

Image from BadToTheBone.biz

I’ll be happy with anything under an hour, but I’ll be ecstatic if I could make it in 58 minutes or less (9:21 miles). A little over 3 weeks left until race day! More on my plans for the race in my next post.

11/14/2009 – Pack It Out Trail Half Marathon

This will be my first half, and my first trail race, so I’d just like to finish.  I have absolutely no time goal at all. My plan is to take it slow and enjoy the race. I’m guaranteed to PR as long as I finish!

Possible Races:

10/10/2009 – Relay for Life 5k @ Newcomb Plaza
10/31/2009 – Monster Mash 5k Dash (UVA Club Track)
11/26/2009 – Prediction Run 10k (Howard County Striders)
3/25/2009 – Bel Monte Trail Endurance Run 25k
4/17/2010 – Charlottesville Half Marathon