Goals for 2011.

After exclusively fun running all fall (after the Towpath 10K), I've been thinking a lot about what I might want to accomplish in 2011 w/r/t running, and have come up with some varied goals (per a Runner's World article's recommendation):

1. Skinny jeans by March.  I've lost about 12 lb. since June (aided by a recent stomach flu).  I think eating vegan has finally caught up with me, and switching medications might be helping, too.  I'm not quite into my smallest clothes, but all my recently (within the last year) purchased clothing is too big.  I want to see if I can get back into those jeans.  If I can't by this time next year, they're out of here, along with every other slightly-too-small item of clothing (except maybe my blue silk BR cocktail dress, just in case).

2. Get my half-marathon time down to under two hours.  My PR (from 2009) is 2:09, run while on antibiotics after a patchy six weeks of training.  Given a goal and the last six months of prep-work, I think I can do it.  If I run the half in Cleveland again this May, I don't have to do much distance work in advance versus a full, which is ideal for winter-training (i.e., no very long runs in the cold and snow and/or no very long runs on the (beloved) T-mill).  And if I don't make my goal time, then I can train all summer and into the fall for a faster time at a fall race.

3.  Run 100 miles each month.  I think this is a manageable training load.  I work half-time (with a reasonably predictable schedule), live conveniently close to some very runnable trails and courses, and have a gym membership (when the garage gets too cold and/or for cross-training).  I have no excuses.

4.  Run a full marathon.  This would be the icing on the cake (and I'd probably only do it if I meet my half-marathon goal in May).  There are so many lovely fall courses and places that I'm sure I can find a race that suits me.

Soooo....some of these are long shots, but I think I can do it if I screw up my courage and motivation.  Running with the club girls (though we're on hiatus and so I only see one or two regularly) has been a real boon, and I've been blessed with some seriously amazing gear this fall.  The pieces are falling into place for a great running year.

*image is from runningwarehouse.com, which is where I purchased that lovely item above.  So far, major props to the site for their immediate delivery and very inexpensive prices!

Updates (now that I have company!).

Did my old favorite five-miler in my mom's neighborhood yesterday on my way home from work.  I felt every single footfall...just so much effort to get through it and took 65 minutes when it used to take 45-50.  The legs felt fine, the weather was lovely, but my heart (quite possibly literally) wasn't in it.  I think I bonked due to nutrition issues.  I think WHAT I eat, and how much, seems right.  I'm working on the WHEN.

I am registered for the Towpath Half on 10.10.10, and am "training" to that end (my plan is to do it under 2:30, and upon completion, will reward myself with a Brooks Nightlife Jacket!). I've logged a few longer runs (7-9 miles) with the Turtles, and am sticking to an adapted training schedule from Runner's World and including lifting (ideally 3x weekly) and swimming (2-3x weekly).  A swimmer dude at my gym let me try his SwiMP3 player and I just ordered one for myself!  I love being in the pool as a means of increasing fitness without adding miles.  But I think I need to get serious about form and effort to reap those benefits.

Reading Brendan Brazier's Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life, and revisiting Matt Fitzgerald's Brain Training for Runners.  Also trying to get through Terry Laughlin's Total Immersion video and books (about the swimming form and all that).

My weight finally dipped a few pounds, so I'm down about 4-5 lb. total.  Most of my clothes fit better by now (scale be damned!), and I'm still hoping to legitimately fit into my skinniest jeans by Christmas.  Then maybe the Cleveland full in 2011?  Any joiners?

Race Report- Cleveland RiteAid [Half] Marathon

Um, I thought long and hard about this, and don't have much to say. Basically, I didn't do as poorly as I feared (i.e., DNF, or a slower time than last year), nor as well as I had hoped (beating two hours). The more I think about it, though, the happier I am with 2:09 after months of antibiotics and health drama. It was a faster pace by more than :20 per mile over last year (PR!), I felt solid and strong the whole time (sloshy belly near mile 11 notwithstanding), and my recovery has been quick and easy (while last year I was achy and exhausted for days). It felt more like a long run with a good friend, which is exactly what I think I needed (for body confidence and/or sanity).

Hi from mile 6-ish!

run with james

Distance: 8.79 miles
Time: 1:23:36
Pace: 9:31/mile
Time of Day: 9:30 a.m.
Temperature: 81 degrees
Notes: Stopped for water in the Divinity School, boat house, and Shell.

James and I got up to run in the hot Mexican sun today. We went through Cambridge neighborhoods and then ran from the Eliot bridge to the Mass Ave/Harvard bridge, switching from Boston to Cambridge at River Street. James commented that it is windy along the river and that the Boston side is hilly. We saw a bunch of crew boats on the river. There weren't any insane geese out on the Boston side today though. Usually I have to dodge goose poop like an obstacle course. Maybe James wards away the geese.

I have to tell my mom I went to a Baptist church today. That makes two churches in one weekend (we went to check out the Tiffany windows in the Arlington Street Church in Back Bay).

James needs to not have shin splints and to update the layout of this bloggie.