Miscellaneous

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

A less serious topic, just because (and it’s not even my birthday, this was spurred by a conversation with another runner who recently celebrated a birthday).

I have often been asked why I don’t celebrate my birthday with a race. Maybe it’s because I’m not a huge fan of racing in Wisconsin winters, which complicates things with an early February birthday. Maybe it’s because, while I’ve always thought of myself as a competitive runner, I’m a runner first and competitive second. Racing is an incredible experience and my running life would have a huge hole in it if racing wasn’t a part of it but I don’t run to race. I race because it’s a part of the running experience for me. I sometimes enjoy a relaxing long run through nature even more than I do a race.

Or maybe it’s because last time I did a birthday race, not running well was only half the story. Guys in the age group I joined just days earlier took 3 of the top 4 spots overall. What a welcome to a new age group that was.

This article was originally posted by Andrew A. at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

With a new team for the new year, I am once again wanting to blog more. I have committed myself to a seasonal summer focus on middle distance (800m-5000m) and leading up to that will race 5K-21K on the roads. The ideal is to be ready to compete in either 1500m or 5000m at Masters Track Nationals in mid-July in Kansas. I will likely be blogging more about my own training than I have in the recent past, hence reviving the blog I had used for that in the distant past.

Today I went and spectated at C.U.’s early-season home meet, the Jerry Quiller Classic. It was invigorating to be around a track meet setting again, to see competitors getting after it in spikes. The crack of the starter’s pistol, the field bunching together and then dispersing, the labored gasps, the rhythmic coordination of arms and legs, the grins at the finish. Part of me wanted to be racing the 3000m, though I am keenly aware that today I would have been drubbed royally by the guy who finished last. I take that to mean that I should move one of my weekly workouts to the track, though.

This article was originally posted by Ed at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

My feelings are a bit diametrical regarding my running so far this year.

On one end I have placed my distance goal of 2,013 miles for the year in jeopardy because of a bad Januray and bad February. As of tomorrow I should be hitting about 414 miles for the year so far to be on the correct pace. I am only going to be at 202 miles for the year. That is a differnce of 212 miles! That is a lot of ground to make up.

On the other end I am way ahead of where I was last year at this point. Last year at the end of March I had 62 miles and this year I will be close to 300. So I have a great shot at achieving my race goals of cutting my times down significantly and placing well overall as well as in my age group.

This article was originally posted by Ed at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

I have registered for a fall Half Marathon. The Chicago Monster Dash on October 20, 2013. This looks to be a very flat out and back course. I am hoping to run a PR there. My current PR in the half marathon is 1:27:00. I am aiming for 1:22:00-1:23:00 (or better of course.)

I have a lot of work to do if I am going to hit that goal. But I am willing as well as able. Hard days ahead but the prize will be worth it all.

I am glad I have Coach Ryan to guid me along!

This article was originally posted by Ed at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Anyone that knows me, knows I have a history of being very inconsistent when it comes to solid training.

The best way to break that inconsistency is to make the daily run a habit.

I am motivated to have some great performances this summer and fall. I have two main goal races for the year and I have realized that sometimes the thought of the goals is not enough on my bad days. I am going to put up a sign by my alarm clock that simply says "Sub 30!" I am hoping that this will help with a sharper focus versus thinking about a "race in fall" in such generic terms.

I want to make myself more accountable to others because more often than not I care more about others than myself. However, this is a difficult situation to create. I do know that I want to be a solid scoring member of team Hillrunner to defend our title this year. Some years the team is not very deep and this means that the team could be seriously counting on me.

I have set the bar pretty high for myself in a goal of sub 30 at the 8K for Brigg’s & Al’s. I have also set the bar very high in my goal of 1:23:00 at a 1/2 marathon in late October.

A tertiary goal that I have is to run 2,013 miles throughout 2013. I am behind on that goal but can still achieve it through hard work and dedication.