Summer is slowly drawing to a close. The first sign of that here is that the blazing heat of the day has been very mild when the sun has gone down. The humidity isn't nearly as stifling as it was in June. With these first signs that fall is approaching comes the excitement of the beginning of race season.
I have been attempting to run a race a month this year, and my goal is to run a Half in November (and then again in February, but that will technically be next year). Building up to that Half, there are quite a few races K and I would like to run. We're going to put together a race calendar that will allow us to plan in advance and stay motivated all year.
Our biggest mistake with the Half we ran in 2010 was a lack of training. We went into the race not having run in months. This year, we don't want to make the same mistake. We want to be running and racing consistently.
So as far as races go, here are some we're interested in:
September 1: Legacy 5k Results
October 6: Lexington Cares 5k
October 13: 10k Race for F.I.S.H
October 27: Race the Roof 8k
November 18: Women's Half Marathon
December 15: Frosty 5k
February 10: Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon
Many of the winter races that will pop up haven't been posted yet, so I'm waiting to see if there are any other 10k or 8k races in December or January. I'm going to need to start a savings fund for some of these, especially because if I actually do them all, I'm looking at a hefty price tag. I love that you can run for free; it just stinks that races can be costly.
I'm excited to have these goals in front of me. This has been a huge year for growth so far, and I'm excited to be successful this year. I think I'll look back at 2012 and think, wow, this was a great year for me where running was concerned.
ABK
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Weekly Report: July 30 - August 5
I fell way short of my goal this week. I ran 3 miles this morning, hoping to up my mileage from 4 to 7, but Daily Mile didn't put in today's run with last week. Oh well! According to Nike, I have 6 days to run 10 more miles to meet my 30-miles-in-three-weeks goal. Now that school is starting again, I'm feeling like I'm going to be a little more on track. This week was just insane; I was at work from 8am until after 5 every day, and it stormed nightly.
On the bright side, I've begun to transition into morning runs, and now that I've started, I am very motivated to stick to it. I'm just too tired in the evenings and it's too easy to talk myself out of it. Going in the morning gets it out of the way, and has the added benefit of giving me bragging rights.
Now that the kids are back, my runs will likely be closer to 5:00am. I'm still tired/weaker in the morning, but I know my body will acclimate eventually.
So...here's to a strong start this week, even if last week was pathetic.
ABK
On the bright side, I've begun to transition into morning runs, and now that I've started, I am very motivated to stick to it. I'm just too tired in the evenings and it's too easy to talk myself out of it. Going in the morning gets it out of the way, and has the added benefit of giving me bragging rights.
Now that the kids are back, my runs will likely be closer to 5:00am. I'm still tired/weaker in the morning, but I know my body will acclimate eventually.
So...here's to a strong start this week, even if last week was pathetic.
ABK
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Priorities
Summer break is a double-edged sword. On the bright side, I had total freedom of my schedule. I could run at 11pm if it suited me. I could run every day, because I wasn't spending energy elsewhere, and could easily fit it in. Even the heat served a purpose: now that my body has acclimated, my distance is back up and I know I'll only improve as cooler autumn weather sets in.
But there is a downside to the freedom of summer. Namely, the lack of discipline. Remember that goal I had to run in the mornings? Yeah, that never happened because I had no real reason to push myself to get up early. So I ran almost every day last week, usually extremely late at night, but my freedom so do that has been cut suddenly short. I went back to work Monday, and the students come back next Tuesday. With early-morning wake-ups and long, labor-intensive days comes total and complete physical exhaustion.
I think that if I could convince myself to go running in the high heat of 4pm, as soon as I get out of school, I could maybe still be running in the evenings. But by the time I get home and relax for half a second, I'm asleep. Literally napping against my will. So this forces me to revisit summer's goal: become a morning runner.
K and I met up at 6am Tuesday to run, and I was able to do almost 2.5 miles. (My body is so exhausted in the mornings that I usually can hardly get in 1.75.) Our plan is to run twice during the week and then on the weekends, but if that's all I do, I won't be able to hit my mileage goal. Especially if I struggle to reach 3 miles in the AM.
(Also, let me take a moment to say YAY MY RUNNING BUDDY IS BACK!!!!!)
On top of that, once the kids come back to school, we'll need to be running closer to 5am. And when K returns to school, we'll be running around 4:45am. So August is kind of a test, and with the weight of exhaustion already dragging me down, I'm definitely feeling doubtful.
Of course, running in the mornings keeps my evenings nice and open. I can cook a leisurely dinner and get planning/grading kind of things in. But I wonder how runners sustain this kind of schedule! How do you go about everyday life when your priority isn't the real world's priority?
My relationship with running has strengthened so much over the summer. I don't want to let it fall by the wayside just because I'm back at work. And I know that all of you who work throughout the year are probably rolling your eyes at me, but adjustment periods are never easy for anyone. I need to figure things out, because after this weekend, life is going to get a heck of a lot more stressful.
But hey, that's why I run, right? I guess I'm lucky that one of the things that causes my stress is also a really good stress reliever.
ABK
But there is a downside to the freedom of summer. Namely, the lack of discipline. Remember that goal I had to run in the mornings? Yeah, that never happened because I had no real reason to push myself to get up early. So I ran almost every day last week, usually extremely late at night, but my freedom so do that has been cut suddenly short. I went back to work Monday, and the students come back next Tuesday. With early-morning wake-ups and long, labor-intensive days comes total and complete physical exhaustion.
I think that if I could convince myself to go running in the high heat of 4pm, as soon as I get out of school, I could maybe still be running in the evenings. But by the time I get home and relax for half a second, I'm asleep. Literally napping against my will. So this forces me to revisit summer's goal: become a morning runner.
K and I met up at 6am Tuesday to run, and I was able to do almost 2.5 miles. (My body is so exhausted in the mornings that I usually can hardly get in 1.75.) Our plan is to run twice during the week and then on the weekends, but if that's all I do, I won't be able to hit my mileage goal. Especially if I struggle to reach 3 miles in the AM.
(Also, let me take a moment to say YAY MY RUNNING BUDDY IS BACK!!!!!)
On top of that, once the kids come back to school, we'll need to be running closer to 5am. And when K returns to school, we'll be running around 4:45am. So August is kind of a test, and with the weight of exhaustion already dragging me down, I'm definitely feeling doubtful.
Of course, running in the mornings keeps my evenings nice and open. I can cook a leisurely dinner and get planning/grading kind of things in. But I wonder how runners sustain this kind of schedule! How do you go about everyday life when your priority isn't the real world's priority?
My relationship with running has strengthened so much over the summer. I don't want to let it fall by the wayside just because I'm back at work. And I know that all of you who work throughout the year are probably rolling your eyes at me, but adjustment periods are never easy for anyone. I need to figure things out, because after this weekend, life is going to get a heck of a lot more stressful.
But hey, that's why I run, right? I guess I'm lucky that one of the things that causes my stress is also a really good stress reliever.
ABK
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