As of today, I’m officially being coached (or so says the check in the mail). I’m very excited to see where my new coach, Howard Nippert (whom has coached many other notable names in the world of distance running), can take me; I know I’m faster than the level at which I’ve been training and competing, and will look for him to maximize my abilities (through proper training for each race, a good diet and general running knowhow). The races we’ll be focusing on improving upon are the Boston Marathon and Burning River, but I’ve already informed him that I’d like to try and better myself in each discipline (race distance), which I think altogether feasible as a natural byproduct of my retooled preparation. I also let him know that it was my hope to come upon a sponsorship or two along the way…which I also hope will be a natural byproduct of my being faster and getting noticed.
Training continues to go well, though like last year I’m using this weekend’s Critz Tybee Half Marathon as little more than a good, fast distance run to assist in readying me for Boston (though, that having been said, I’d still like to go under my previous best—1:23:28--and give 1:20:00 a shot). So I’ll taper a bit this week, and give it the old college try on Saturday, knowing full well I could have trained more/better for it, but without regret all the same; I’ll live with my preparation decisions and make the most of where I’m currently at.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Not Yet Race Ready, But Hopeful All The Same
As most reading this likely already know, I didn’t participate in the Harbison 50k due to last-minute time constraints. But I was able to push my registration fee to next year’s race and recouped my hotel fees, so I’m not out a single cent. And not knowing if I was truly in good enough shape to actually be racing the course, my no-show is probably a very wise decision indeed.
School began last week, therein lying the reason this posting has been so long coming, as the time I’ve spent on it in the past (during the slow moments at work) is now occupied by schooling (and wanting to keep all “free time” at home actual “free time”). School is going fine/well thus far. And with that I'll end the talk of school.
My legs are still feeling good, though I’m starting to wonder about my ability to put fast miles on them (which will be necessary for the impending—February 5—Critz Tybee Half Marathon); I’ve been focusing so much on long, slow distance that I’ve not spent the necessary prep time on speed training. Having been able to run 6:15 miles for 13.1 miles is a very different thing than being able to run 6:15 miles for 13.1 miles, especially when you’ve been targeting 7:00+-minute miles in your training (that’s my long way of saying that my legs haven’t been responding as well as I’d hoped in the last week or so of speed work). Unbeknownst to many of you (because I still haven’t tallied all my 2011 goals on here), one of my running-related goals for this year was to better my times for each of the distances in which I participate. With 1:23:28 being my fastest half marathon to date (which averages out to 6:22 per-mile), I just don’t know if my legs are ready for that kind of terrorizing. But, I’ll give it the old college try and see (but not at the risk of a setback to my Boston preparation)—despite not training for the 2010 Trick or Trot 10k, I still put down my fastest time, after all. I’ve still got a couple of weeks in between now and then to “get my fast on,” anyways. Not optimal, but perhaps still time enough to ready my legs for a sub-1:20 result.
School began last week, therein lying the reason this posting has been so long coming, as the time I’ve spent on it in the past (during the slow moments at work) is now occupied by schooling (and wanting to keep all “free time” at home actual “free time”). School is going fine/well thus far. And with that I'll end the talk of school.
My legs are still feeling good, though I’m starting to wonder about my ability to put fast miles on them (which will be necessary for the impending—February 5—Critz Tybee Half Marathon); I’ve been focusing so much on long, slow distance that I’ve not spent the necessary prep time on speed training. Having been able to run 6:15 miles for 13.1 miles is a very different thing than being able to run 6:15 miles for 13.1 miles, especially when you’ve been targeting 7:00+-minute miles in your training (that’s my long way of saying that my legs haven’t been responding as well as I’d hoped in the last week or so of speed work). Unbeknownst to many of you (because I still haven’t tallied all my 2011 goals on here), one of my running-related goals for this year was to better my times for each of the distances in which I participate. With 1:23:28 being my fastest half marathon to date (which averages out to 6:22 per-mile), I just don’t know if my legs are ready for that kind of terrorizing. But, I’ll give it the old college try and see (but not at the risk of a setback to my Boston preparation)—despite not training for the 2010 Trick or Trot 10k, I still put down my fastest time, after all. I’ve still got a couple of weeks in between now and then to “get my fast on,” anyways. Not optimal, but perhaps still time enough to ready my legs for a sub-1:20 result.
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