2014: Spring Goals

I suppose being only 5 or 6 weeks into the new year that this is as good of time as any to start to discuss what I am up to and what I am planning for this year.

I am still trying not to look at 2013 with a twinge of failure. I keep trying to look at it as maybe not PR'ing in time but I accomplished so much in terms of distance. And, I learned a lot about how to train properly. But of course being as hard as I am on myself it is disappointing to know that I am just not where I want to be in terms of running. 

Which leads me to my goals for Spring. Basically - there are NO goals as far as PR's and times. I have no intention of running anything more than half marathon distance in the first half of the year. And, I am not entirely convinced I will run one in the fall. After running 3 fulls and an ultra last year - and in the process losing a lot of fitness (I know that sounds weird but bear with my thinking here) I want to focus on getting that back. 

I want to get back to where I was at the end of 2012. I feel that the second I started to focus on the full that I lost all that I had worked hard to gain in the half distance. Speed went out the window and even as I trained for the fall and my sub 4 goal I never felt fully confident in the speed. I am also over the weight that I was back then. Not by much but by enough to know that yes it probably does make a difference; so there is that as well that I am working on (kind of sort of as in don't have wings and beer night more than once a week. don't judge).

I took a pretty good amount of time off from really running. And I am still not at the point where I am logging a lot of miles. I am 100% easing back into it all. For a while I did a ton of Flywheel classes and cross training. A few weeks back Les Mill's Body Pump came to NYSC and I have been consistently taking 3 classes a week since it launched. I am feeling stronger which is a great feeling. I miss feeling strong. Then I have been doing cross training and running a few times a week. No crazy mileage yet though. I did a "long" run last weekend of 7 miles. Weird to call that long when I was doing 10-12 as my mid week run during marathon training but that is where I am at. 

Now, I am running some races in the beginning of this year...I got into the NYC Half during the second lottery round, the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile as well as the Brooklyn Half Marathon. So yes I am preparing for that distance. But, I do not have a single time goal for any. I am not prepared to PR by any means (1:53 for the half) and there is no pressure to. NYC Half should be an amazing experience and Brooklyn Half was one of my favorite races last spring. Also a few other shorter NYRR races have hit the calendar this week in a registration blitz. Oops. 

I have skipped a planned run if I didn't feel like it, and am actually enjoying the ones that I am doing. I want to not rush myself into shape and then just not enjoy it. I was so over running at the end of the year and that sucked. I want to WANT to run. I want to LOVE the run.

So there we have it. That is what I have been up to lately. Spring equals rebuilding for me. No pressure. Just build back up and have a little bit of fun with it. I think the second I started to put so much pressure on myself to perform was the second I started to fail. I remember having this idea of going "sub 2" for the half marathon in the fall of 2012 - and then proceeded to run a 1:54 without having obsessively geared every run to pace and effort and structure. I ran. And because I ran blindly I think that is where the success was. I am not going to throw away all I learned about tempos, intervals, ladder, pyramid etc workouts but I am going to relax myself for a while. I don't expect much in terms of performance but I would like to end spring feeling strong and confident again.

Now if only it would warm up and de-ice outside - I would really like to hit the pavement (even though I honestly don't hate the treadmill).