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Friday, December 30, 2011

2012 Running Goals


I saw Katy's 2011 Goals recap, and I decided it would be a good idea to write a list of goals for myself for 2012.  These will generally all be running related, but there may be a few life goals thrown in as well.  So here it is, the OFFICIAL Running Daddy Goals for 2012:

1. Run a sub-two hour Half Marathon - If all goes well, I should be able to get this goal out of the way on Jan. 7 at the Walt Disney World Half Marathon.  If not at Disney, I'm also running the Lincoln (NE) Half Marathon in May, and I damn well better be able to hit this goal by May.

2. Run a Full Marathon - I will have to get a little better at organizing my life and getting my non-running and non-kids related tasks done just to fit in the longer training runs, but I hope to run the Twin Cities Marathon in October.


3. Run a PR 5K - I haven't really focused much on 5K races (although I've done a couple over the past year or two), and I still plan on keeping my focus on longer distances... but I'd like to improve at this fun, short distance too.  My current PR is 26:09, which I achieved waaaaaaay back in 2009.
4. Run a 10K Race - I've never actually run a 10K race, and I think that would be a pretty good distance for me.  During my training for Disney, I've had tempo runs where my pace for nearly a 10K was 8:45 or so.  With adrenaline, I could probably get down to about 8:30-8:35, which would be outstanding (for me) for a 10K.  I need to make this happen.

5. Run 1000 miles - I think this should actually be fairly easy to do.  After my long run on Saturday, my total for 2011 will be just under 615 miles, but I didn't really start running until March or April, and not really very seriously until July I think.  Since I'm already signed up for the Lincoln Half and hope to run the Twin Cities Marathon at the beginning of October (plus the Monster Dash Half Marathon at the end of October), I should be able to easily hit this goal.  I also hope to do a mid-year follow up on these goals, and if it looks like I'm going to be way ahead of 1000 miles, I'll adjust this total up.

6. Try a little trail running - I have never had any desire to run on trails before... but recently, I've thought it might be kind of fun.  This spring and summer, I want to try a few runs here and there that are through trails.  Now I just have to find some local trails.
Because trail running in Minnesota looks just like this
7. Cross Train Consistently and Effectively - this is more of a wishy-washy, non-concrete goal... but I think it is crucial.  The plan that I've been using for Disney (from Run Less, Run Faster) supplements running with cross training as a means to avoid injury and increase intensity during the running workouts.  I have been very lax on doing my cross training workouts this training session (I'm supposed to do two a week, and I've only been doing one, or (recently) none).

8. Swim More - Related to the last goal, as part of my cross training, I want to use swimming workouts more frequently as my cross training workout because it will help build better overall body fitness.
Two Homer Pictures?  Yes.  Two Homer Pictures.
9. Throw in some weight training - I used to life weights frequently (at least 3-4 times a week).  Now that I've focused on running, I've let that slip (thankfully, I still get at least some good arm workouts carrying around my son and daughter).  I don't really want to do very much of this, but I'd love to find a weight training program that is designed for runners (or at least is runner friendly) that can be done quickly (ideally in 15-20 minutes, a couple times a week).  (Any tips from my legions of readers would be appreciated (OK... handful of readers... OK, one or two people who maybe follow a link from a comment on another blog).

10. Enjoy the End of the World! - maybe you haven't heard (if your smart and just ignore John Cusack action movies completely), but the Mayans predicted that the world will end on December 21, 2012.  So kick back, have a few drinks, partake in other joys and delicacies, and enjoy the End Of Days!


    Happy New Year everybody!

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