Hello all,
Ok, so my first Half Marathon (http://www.mainemarathon.com/) on October 5th is a little over 15 weeks away and my training plan has started and I am psyched. I am using the Hal Higdon Half Marathon Novice Plan as a template but I am increasing the mileage since it has me starting with a lot of base work that I have already done.
So far everything is going great; I enjoy the 3-4 runs during the week that I have been getting 3-5 miles out of, the 8 mile runs on Friday morning and the Long Slow Runs (LSR) on Sunday’s. I am hoping to get my LSR to 14 miles and use the 5 mile runs on Saturday as Tempo runs. I am trying to keep myself to a goal of “To Finish” but I am also hoping that if I prepare myself correctly I can not only finish but do so in a competitive time.
As an update to the Boston Marathon, I met with Dave S. to discuss the fundraising goal and we are shooting to have the Blog up and running by mid August and send out our first mailing by 09/01/2008.
Cheers,
Tim D
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Setting realistic goals and expectations
Ok, so one of my closest friends has always said that I am the one friend that is “most likely to join a cult” and that really sums up how I jump into things. I am just the type of person who feels the need to jump 100% into something and I tend to become obsessive about things in “my focus” (just ask my spouse).
So now that I have begun my obsession with running and getting myself in shape I have set my goals for 2008 as the Falmouth Road Race and my first Half Marathon in Portland, Maine on October 5th. As a newbie with 3 races under my belt and an average of 20-25 miles per week for the last month I need to STOP AND SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS for 2008 and 2009.
So I am confident that I can run 7 mile distance of the Falmouth Road Race or the 13.1 miles of the Half Marathon the real question is whether I can do it when the gun fires and not set an unrealistic goal for myself. My problem is that everybody (that would be people with more experience and miles on the road then me) keep telling me that my first Half Marathon should be run with one goal only and that is to FINISH and that makes so much sense but….
Part of me thinks that if I don’t run with a goal pace or time that I am depriving myself of finishing with some record setting time? So for the Half Marathon I am training using the Hanson Brothers Training plan (http://www.hansons-running.com/) for a Half Marathon. I have chosen this plan because I like the idea that it is 18 weeks (3) Long Runs of 12 miles and (7) 10 mile runs and also includes weekly Strength/Speed and Tempo runs. I think this plan will allow me to FINISH the race but part of me also hopes it will prepare for a sub Two-Hour Half Marathon. So for the Half Marathon my expectation has to be to finish but I am hoping to be prepared enough to run it in less then 2 hours. Does that make me a bad person or unrealistic newbie, maybe but this will be a great way to set the appropriate expectation for the full Marathon in April 2009.
This will be a common thread and discussion that I will harp on and go back and forth on a lot but just look for me selling flowers on the side of the road with all of the other cult members…..
Tim
So now that I have begun my obsession with running and getting myself in shape I have set my goals for 2008 as the Falmouth Road Race and my first Half Marathon in Portland, Maine on October 5th. As a newbie with 3 races under my belt and an average of 20-25 miles per week for the last month I need to STOP AND SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS for 2008 and 2009.
So I am confident that I can run 7 mile distance of the Falmouth Road Race or the 13.1 miles of the Half Marathon the real question is whether I can do it when the gun fires and not set an unrealistic goal for myself. My problem is that everybody (that would be people with more experience and miles on the road then me) keep telling me that my first Half Marathon should be run with one goal only and that is to FINISH and that makes so much sense but….
Part of me thinks that if I don’t run with a goal pace or time that I am depriving myself of finishing with some record setting time? So for the Half Marathon I am training using the Hanson Brothers Training plan (http://www.hansons-running.com/) for a Half Marathon. I have chosen this plan because I like the idea that it is 18 weeks (3) Long Runs of 12 miles and (7) 10 mile runs and also includes weekly Strength/Speed and Tempo runs. I think this plan will allow me to FINISH the race but part of me also hopes it will prepare for a sub Two-Hour Half Marathon. So for the Half Marathon my expectation has to be to finish but I am hoping to be prepared enough to run it in less then 2 hours. Does that make me a bad person or unrealistic newbie, maybe but this will be a great way to set the appropriate expectation for the full Marathon in April 2009.
This will be a common thread and discussion that I will harp on and go back and forth on a lot but just look for me selling flowers on the side of the road with all of the other cult members…..
Tim
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Stomach bugs, new PR, running Falmouth...
Ok, so what have I been doing and how is my running going? Well after the stomach bug from hell that almost forced me to miss my 1st 5k, I have recovered and I am doing well. Since the first 5k at UMASS which I ran a respectable 25:29 I had to cut back on my miles since I was terrified of being more then 30 feet from a restroom. Once I felt better I was back to building up my base with some consistent runs. Last week all of my short runs through the week were great, I even tried a speed run for the first time. The Friday before my race I woke up at 5:00 AM and was on the road for 5:30 for my long run. It was a pristine morning and I felt great. I wanted to do 8:00 miles at a 9:40 to 10:30 pace and force myself not to run it at my normal 8:50-9:05 pace. I managed to stay within the pace range and did 8 miles in 1:17 minutes. Overall I was thrilled with the run.
I rested on Saturday and then on Sunday, June 1st I ran the Rhody 5k @ Twin Rivers in Lincoln RI (www.rhody5k.com). The weather was nice but this flat, tree less course was an OVEN….
I did ok though, I lined up with the 8 minute milers and all of my splits were under 8 and I sprinted across the finish line at 24:34. My son was there to cheer me on and he and my wife also raced. This is my first week of my 18 week Half Marathon training plan so I am excited. I have decided to try the Hanson’s Brothers (no not the guys with tin foil on their hands who bring there toys with them on the road) and I will keep everyone updated on my progress.
On another note, the check for the Cigna Falmouth Road Race (08/10/2008) was cashed so I was picked out of the lottery and I will have the opportunity to run it. I am both excited and nervous since heat isn’t my favorite thing but it is too good of opportunity to pass up and it will be a great test for my progress towards the half marathon in October.
More to come….
I rested on Saturday and then on Sunday, June 1st I ran the Rhody 5k @ Twin Rivers in Lincoln RI (www.rhody5k.com). The weather was nice but this flat, tree less course was an OVEN….
I did ok though, I lined up with the 8 minute milers and all of my splits were under 8 and I sprinted across the finish line at 24:34. My son was there to cheer me on and he and my wife also raced. This is my first week of my 18 week Half Marathon training plan so I am excited. I have decided to try the Hanson’s Brothers (no not the guys with tin foil on their hands who bring there toys with them on the road) and I will keep everyone updated on my progress.
On another note, the check for the Cigna Falmouth Road Race (08/10/2008) was cashed so I was picked out of the lottery and I will have the opportunity to run it. I am both excited and nervous since heat isn’t my favorite thing but it is too good of opportunity to pass up and it will be a great test for my progress towards the half marathon in October.
More to come….
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