Running in 2017 – Halfway There and Updated Goals

This weekend brings July, as well as the halfway point for 2017. While personally life has been pretty good, it also has been a great year of running so far. I haven’t quite hit post-marathon goals yet, but overall I’m happy with where I am. Let’s look at the goals I set out for myself at the beginning of the year, and how I’m progressing.

Back in December, I set some running related goals:

• Run 1,000 miles: By the time the calendar turns to July, I’ll be around 580 miles. I was averaging 100 miles through April, but May and June brought reduced mileage. It took me much longer to get back in “training mode” after the marathon than I imagined, and to be honest, I’m not completely “there” yet. I’m giving myself this last week in June to do what feels good before starting to push more.
• Run a marathon by myself: Done and done. I had an amazing experience at the New Jersey Marathon. I’m glad it was a great race, as it will be my only marathon for 2017, with the Disney World Marathon falling in January 2018!
• PR in one distance: Well – I’ve beat this goal because I PR’d TWICE! First was a :27 5K pr at the Shamrock 5K in March and then a 28 minute PR at the New Jersey Marathon.
• Run 2 sub-2:15 half marathons: I have run 4 half marathons (3 road, 1 trail) and ran a 2:12:xx at the Oldfields Half in April (never recapped this…whoops). I went to this race with no expectations aside from getting in a good long run. This is my second fastest half so far! I’m confident that if I don’t get a 13.1 PR by the time I start Goofy training, I will meet this goal.

• Get back to blogging, reading blogs, and communicating with readers and ambassador groups more regularly – Yeah, about that. I like my little space, but unfortunately it’s just not a priority. I’m okay with that. I still read blogs, but I’m treating this more as a journal of experiences to look back on.

So what’s next? I’m trying to keep chipping away at those post-marathon goals for now, with the Old Port Half Marathon just over a week away, and the Maryland Sprint Duathlon a week later. I’m looking to build up some speed before I start officially building up for the 2018 Goofy Challenge in September!

I’m going to keep goals I haven’t met, and also update/add some

• Run 1,000 miles –> Run 100 miles/month each month for the second half of the year, and also, hit 1,200 miles for the year. The only month I see this being a challenge is July, when I’ll be traveling a lot!
•  PR in one distance –> Run at least 1 more PR this year. I’d be happy with any distance. For this I’m not counting the Charles Street 12, because unless I collapse and crawl to the finish, I will run a course/12 mile PR at this race. I’d be very smitten to run another half marathon PR.
• Run 2 sub-2:15 half marathons: Gotta keep chipping away at this one! I’m hoping to meet this in the fall, and to run another sub 2:10 in Laughlin in December.
• Run a running club race: I joined the Baltimore Road Runners Club in March, and have only run one race with them so far. I want to start getting more involved with them.
• Foam roll/injury prevention 2-3 times a week. I’ve been very bad with this so far this year, only using my tools once I start to hurt. Goofy training is going to bring high mileage and I have to take care of myself!

In the next few months, I’m really looking forward to running some new races, especially the Old Port Half and Rock N Roll Philly. It’s weird to look at August and not have any races on the docket, but I’m going to use that time to push hard for Philly and enjoy my time going to more November Project workouts!

 

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