Thursday, April 12, 2012

Unplugged Half Marathon Goals

  • As always to have fun and have a positive race
  • To have my best time for the year (one good thing about a slow half in Feb. is it makes this more possible)
  • I want to run all my miles under 10 minutes including that hilly one near the end (last year my last 3 miles were in the tens)
  • I want to be as close to 2:05 as possible
  • I want there to be the same delicious brownies as part of the post race food that they had last year 
  • I want to end it thinking I do want to run the two halves I am already registered before the end of May
  • I want to have enough energy left for a bike ride in the afternoon
  • I want someone to say to me as I am running, "Aren't you the amazing swimmer I have seen at the pool at 5:45 a.m.? 
  • To celebrate the fact that this is my 20th half marathon
Okay some of these are silly goals (but truly I would love to have them happen) but what fun are goals without some silliness?  Or at least that is my belief for today.  I will go back and highlight the ones I am most serious about. 

There!

On to Saturday and a great race.  I know Jill and Johann are running halves too. Good luck to all of us and may we all enjoy our races! Plus good luck to all the Boston runners come Monday especially Marlene who is as excited as anyone out there!

Last year running over the bike  bridge- there were huge vibrations I
had never felt before as one of just a few runners or 
a cyclist

Huge snowstorm last year a few days before the
race. They changed the route some and 
moved snow from portions of
the bike path


No worries about snow THIS year.




19 comments:

Char said...

Your twentieth half marathon is a great achievement. Good luck with your race this weekend and all those goals.

Ransick said...

Have fun this weekend! 20 half marathons? That's impressive!

Regarding your swimming question, it makes total sense to me. Your thigh muscles take a lot of oxygen so using them to swim faster affects endurance. That's why a pull buoy really helped me when I learned to swim. It helped me stay level without kicking at all so I could feel what it was like to swim level and use only my arms. When I'm swimming for endurance, I try to kick just enough to stay level using the least amount of energy/oxygen possible for my legs.

Keep experimenting and don't write anything off just yet. As you get faster what doesn't work now, might in the future.

middleagedrunner said...

Have fun this weekend and good luck! 20 Half's is a huge accomplishment- congrats to you!

Kandi said...

Those sound like good goals! Good luck. I especially hope you get your brownie at the finish line.

Johann said...

Yay for your 20th half! I always have some "silly" personal goals just like your list. Have a super race!

christa said...

HILL? What hill? Where is the hill? I want to finish the race!!

Darlene said...

Good luck! 20 - wow! None of the goals seem silly... LOL

Alisa said...

"hey, aren't you that amazing swimmer I see at 5:45?" ;)

You'll do great! Wishing you speedy thoughts and lots of energy so you can bike ride later that day. PS You're sounding so much like a triathlete these days.

Christi said...

Have a great race my dear!

Ransick said...

I don't mind answering questions at all, so ask away. I'm still not a fast swimmer, but I struggled more than most to get the hang of it enough to be comfortable so I would love to help out.

I try to rotate when I swim vs. swimming flat, but I'm sure I don't rotate enough. I agree with laying off the lessons for a while but keep practicing 2-3x per week. When I learned, I got a private lesson and the instructor pointed out so many things wrong I couldn't remember them all. I told her I would practice by myself for a few weeks then schedule another lesson. I did that several times.

It would be good to do drills for most of your swimming time at this point. Look up shark drill, catch up, zipper drill and finger tip drag on you tube. They will make you feel really uncomfortable and uncoordinated at first, but with time, your stroke will improve. SO something like a couple hundred yard warmup (even if that means 4x50), then 4x50 of each of the drills, then a couple hundred yard cool down (even if it means 4x50). Your stroke will feel different for the cool down because the drills will help your form. Do that 2-3x a week for 3-4 weeks then take another set of lessons.

You can do it!

Jenn said...

Super goals!!! 20th HM!! This is reason for Brownies!!! If they don't have any delicious ones, you must send me your address and I will mail some to YOU!!!!! Very best of luck to you tomorrow!! May all these NON-silly goals be acheived!!!

Kate Geisen said...

I'm excited for you!! I hope your race is fantastic and you smash all your goals. :)

Amy said...

Congratulations on your 20th half! Hope it goes well and that you get to tick off a least a few of those goals!

Liz said...

20 Halfs is fantastic! Have a great race!

Kate Geisen said...

It's not teasing...it's thorough research. :)

Teamarcia said...

Congrats on 20! Can't wait to hear all about it. :)

Teamarcia said...

Congrats on 20! Can't wait to hear all about it. :)

Unknown said...

So great goals, so positive!! I love the brownie memory..sometimes those tangible rewards just work for us!
Have fun!

Black Knight said...

Now I know that you have run in a perfect weather, no ice and no snow.
I am always more curious to read about your improvements in swimming.