Race Goals for Tomorrow's 5k

I've got a 5k race on the calendar for tomorrow, which means it's time to set some race goals!

Tomorrow's race is "Run the Rails," and it benefits a local school district's scholarship fund. It seems like a timely cause considering the financial challenges many area school districts are struggling with right now.

I didn't run this 5k last year, and I've never run near the race course, so it's a good opportunity to explore a new area. The weather forecast is looking good, albeit a bit warmer than I'd prefer - should be sunny and mid-70's at race time. As for the course, most of it winds through a park area along paved walkways, and it looks to be pretty flat. So conditions seem right for a good run.

So now to write out a few goals. Here goes:
1. Beat my time from last month's 5k of 28:23
2. Finish under 28:00
3. Finish under 27:00

I have to say that I'll be disappointed if I don't beat last month's time. When I ran that 5k, I had only really been back to running for less than 2 weeks after about 2 months of almost no running. Since then, I've been running very consistently four times per week. Also, tomorrow's course is much flatter. Last month's 5k was up-hill for the entire mile 3, which can be (and was for me) mentally and physically defeating. Tomorrow I can pace myself without being concerned about tackling a hill at the end of the course.

As for goals 2 and 3, those are the same as goals 2 and 3 for last month's race, which I didn't achieve. So, why not try again?

New training schedule

Image via Wikipedia

Have a plan

Last Saturday's race brought my last training cycle to a close. I don't like to run without a plan, so it's time for a new training schedule. I spent some time over the weekend thinking about it, and came up with the training schedule posted on my calendar on the training tab above.

This new training schedule takes me through to my next 5k on March 26. I may also do a 10k on Feb. 26. If so, I'll tweak that week a bit, but won't change anything else. Or I may make sweeping changes at any time.

This new training schedule also lays a foundation for half marathon training coming up in April and May.

Goals

It's hard to put together a training plan without goals. So, here are my goals for the next couple of months:

1. Weight loss: time to attack the "love handles"

2. Improve endurance: I think my low mileage over the past 6-8 weeks is partly to blame for my falling off at the end of the two 5k's I did this month.

3. Continue speed/core work: it's important to practice running fast.

I should also mention "staying injury free," which is always a goal.

Fortunately, the first two goals can both be achieved the same way - longer, slower runs. The third goal will be achieved by keeping a weekly speed workout and a weekly core workout on the schedule.

The Plan

With those goals in mind, beginning on Jan. 29, my training plan will follow this basic pattern:

Long -- recovery -- medium -- rest -- speed -- recovery -- rest

More specifically:

(Saturdays) Long run: 7-10 mile range.

(Sundays) Recovery run: 4-6 mile range.

(Mondays) Medium-distance run: 5-7 mile range.

(Tuesdays) Rest (core work)

(Wednesdays) Speed work: usually a tempo run or intervals.

(Thursdays) Recovery run: 4-5 mile range.

(Fridays) Rest.

Weekly mileage will increase at about 8-9% per week until I get to about 30mi/week a couple of weeks before my race. Then things start to level off and taper slightly during the two weeks leading up to my race on March 26.

Details about the various types of runs

Here are my current training paces:

Easy/Long run pace: 9:23-9:53 min/mi

Tempo pace: 8:04-8:25 min/mi

400m intervals: 1:43-1:50 per 400m (about 6:52-7:20 min/mi)

I calculated these paces using the McMillan's Running Calculator and a recent 5k race time.

Tempo runs will roughly follow the 30/60/10 setup (30% of total time at easy pace, then 60% of total time at fast pace, then 10% of total time at easy pace). So, e.g., a 35min tempo would be 10min @ easy pace, then 21min @ fast pace, 4min @ easy pace.

Interval workouts will include about a 1mi warm-up and a 1mi cool-down at easy pace. Each interval will include 400m at interval pace, then about a 2min slow jog or walk. 

2011 Goals (part 2)

A few more things to add to my original 2011 goals post:

- I've been inspired by Adam over at The Boring Runner to establish a 1 mile PR in 2011. Along those lines, I also want to establish PR's for the 400m and 2mi run. I went back and found my fastest 400m training interval, which is now shown as my 400m PR. Since that was part of a 5x400m interval workout, I think I could beat it if I just ran one 400m flat out without having to save anything for later intervals. The 2mi distance gives me a chance to compare my current running ability to where I was back in my Army days. The Army's physical fitness test included a 2mi run, so back in those days it was all about the 2mi run time for me. It will be interesting to see if I can get my 2mi time back to where it used to be (I think it was around 13 min at my best).

- I want to blog/journal more consistently. I've be journaling my runs for about a year and blogging for about six months. I like being able to go back see where I've been. I wish there weren't so many gaps in my blog entries, though. I want to improve this year.

- Start taking more photos on my runs. I have only a handful of photos from the past year. I wish I had more.

2011 Goals

Image via Wikipedia

2010 was the year I started running. Sort of my Running 101 year. I began last January with Couch to 5k, and finished with a half marathon in December. But the one thing I'm most proud of is that I managed to be consistent with my running for the entire year. Everything else I accomplished can be traced back to simply being consistent. There were too many people and things that kept me motivated to list here, so I'll save that for another post. But, I will say that I love racing, and found that having an upcoming race on my calendar was huge for keeping me going.

So with all of that in mind, here are a few things I'd like to accomplish in 2011.

First, continue being consistent with my running. Pace and distance improvements are great, but at this stage I still feel that I'm very much a beginning runner, and as such, I'm told that consistency is key. So I've set a mileage goal of 1000 miles for 2011 in order to help me achieve my more general goal of running consistently. It will take a year-long, consistent effort to reach 1000 miles. That's an average of about 19 miles per week. It's very reachable, but only if I stay consistent.

Second, I want to keep a busy race schedule. I think it will help me achieve my first goal because racing is such a big motivation for me. The last thing I want is to show up on race day feeling unprepared. So on days I don't feel like running, I think about the upcoming race and how much better prepared I'll feel if I got in all of my training runs. That's usually enough to get me out the door. So in 2011 I plan to run 7-9 races. That's about one race every 5-6 weeks when you consider that not much racing goes on in Texas between mid-July and mid-September. I think that's about right. (although I have 2 races this month - how did that happen?)

Third, I want to get more consistent with core training. I would like to look back on 2011 this time next year and see that I became as consistent with core training in 2011 as I did with running in 2010. My goal is at least one core training workout per week.

So that's really about it for 2011-specific goals. I have other goals that I keep listed on my goals page, but those aren't necessarily goals that I feel like I have to accomplish in 2011 (although running a full marathon is something I would like to shoot for in late 2011). I'm sure that over the coming days and weeks I will think of other things I'd like to accomplish in 2011, but I think this is a pretty good start for now.