A little bit of this, a little bit of that!

In the interest of condensing posts (since I've been a lazy blogger of late), I'm just going to combine them into one long post. Bare with me!

2010 Races/Goals

This year is going to be an interesting and busy year running-wise. You can check out my race schedule (as of now) to the right. Lots of halfs, a few marathons, and a smattering of smaller races. I chose most of these races for specific reasons. Surf City, San Francisco, and Long Beach will complete the California Dreamin' Series. UCSB also has a three-race series which includes a 4 miler, 5 miler, and 10k. As for marathons, I have a rather lofty goal, if all goes according to plan. I've decided to make CIM in my hometown of Sacramento my fall marathon. But I also applied for the NYC Marathon, and if (if!) I get in, I've decided to go for my dream of qualifying for the Marathon Maniacs by running 3 marathons in 3 months! I would run the Long Beach full instead of the half in October, NYC in November, and CIM in December. But again, this all depends on one big IF! I know NYC is super hard to get into via the lottery, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up : )

I also have a few goals for these races. For marathon No. 3 in LA, my goal is still to finish sub-5 hours. Training-wise I was ready to do this at SBIM, but the running gods had other plans : / By fall, however, I would like to get down to 4:30-4:45. Again, I really think I am capable of this, I just have to put in the time and effort. As far as halfs, my ultimate goal is to finish sub-2 hours. Considering that my PR right now is 2:17 though, I'm gonna take baby steps and make my goal for this year 2:10 (10 min/mi pace). Then there's the speed demon also known as the 5k. My goal for this year is 25:XX. I've been running much faster than usual on my shorter weekly runs lately, so I think this is possible, especially with some speedwork. Setting goals is always hard for me because I want to find the in-between point of being attainable yet not being too easy that it's not something I have to strive for. Hopefully I've hit the mark for my 2010 goals.

Training

The LA Marathon is in 66 days. I only just did my first long run to kick off my training. A little nervous? Hell yes. But I have to keep reminding myself that I just ran a marathon last month, and although I took some time off after, I still have a solid base to build from for the next one in March. I've been aiming to workout 5-6 days a week, and am just about there. Notice I say workout instead of run...that's because I've recently begun testing out my skills in the pool! Skills is the wrong word...I have horrible form and no endurance whatsoever, but I'm excited to improve and have some cross-training as part of my training (it's about time!). Swimming is great too because it really gives my body a break from the constant pounding of the pavement. My goal is be able to swim a mile by June. I swam 550m my first time, so I'll just about have to triple that, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. Who knows, maybe I'll even make an appearance in the crazy world of triathlons this year ; ) Going back to running though, I've been doing mostly 4 milers during the week, and have been averaging a 9-9:30 pace, which is much faster than normal for me. I've felt pretty good each time, noticeably pushing it but not to the point that I feel like I can't maintain it or I'm going to die. Long runs have pretty much just made their way back onto my schedule. Tom, Stacey, and I have a somewhat accelerated plan to get us up to 20 miles before LA, but I think it's doable. We started off with a 9 miler on Sunday and ran most of it at a 10-something pace. I felt a little more tired than usual, but I think my body just needs to be reminded what long runs feel like. I'm hoping to keep up the consistency over the next few weeks as school, work, etc. gets busier and busier.


Team In Training

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm now a mentor for the summer season of Team In Training here in Santa Barbara. The season doesn't start until February, so right now we're focused on recruitment.This past Sunday we held a "preview" party that was a lot of fun and pretty successful too, but the best news is from just last night. A few of my sorority sisters had expressed some interest and had come out to the party, but hadn't signed up. But then yesterday they told me they were ready to sign up! I also convinced my two roommates to register, bringing the total to 8 girls from my house! Woot woot! They should call it Gamma Phi In Training : ) I am already so proud of these girls for taking on such an enormous challenge and for doing it for an amazing cause. I was even getting a little emotional listening to them talk about how nervous/excited/scared they were...it reminds me of exactly how I felt this time last year when I was in there shoes, and the incredible journey that followed over the next several months. I'm just so excited for them and I can't wait to be there to cheer them on as each one of them crosses the finish line : )