Running Goals - revisited

I received some great comments with regards to my recent "running goals" post and I decided to make a post off of the comments, followed up by my new training regiment, here goes.

As a reminder these were my updated 2009 specific running goals:

• Get Healthy and Stay there
• Lose Weight
• Get Stronger
• Run a 50 miler

These goals will not happen next year but will in a few years.

• Run a 100k
  
• Run a 100 miler?
• Run a marathon (or beyond) in all 50 states by 60
• Run a marathon in under 4 hours

Londell said... To much thought for me... I like the 50 then 100 thoughts... I say go for Superior 50 as that is the last 50 of the 100 so the following year trying to take that beast means you already know the second half?

That's exactly what I was thinking, if I do the 50 this year, plan on the 100 next year, the 50 should be familiar. Of course I am assuming that my brain works during a 100 after 50 miles and that I will be able to remember back to the previous year.


SteveQ said... Don't try Superior for your first 100 unless you do the 50 first and finish it saying, "Gee, I wish I could do that for another 24 hours - in the dark, with blisters."

I can't follow Steve's advice as I have never finished any running event thinking I wish I could run farther. I usually am saying "never again" but I do get his point. I think I program myself to the distance of the day and keep moving until the end happens. I will be curious to test this method at the 50 mile distance next year.


MN Ultra Runner said... My first thought was to make Superior 100 your first. Odds of finishing versus other races is much lower, but who cares? It happened to me this year and I realized it wasn't that big a deal. If I fail again then it might be time to start thinking about an easier course;)

I agree with Adam, who cares, if Superior is harder than most other events in the Midwest, why not take it on. If I fail so be it but if I target it and train for it over the next year and a half, I should be able to get myself ready both mentally and physically.

Matthew Patten said... I think any 100 is a very personal thing. I am not sure it makes sense to worry more about if one is harder than another (within reason).

They are all hard.

I have come up with a "removing road blocks" theory. Spend your time training at removing road blocks (taking certain things out of the equation).

For me, a major road block is heat. Superior is almost always cool, so I removed that road block. My margin of error was reduced.

I spent a bunch of nights running until I could not run any more. The road block was not removed, but reduced in size. The night was fun at SST for except for about 2 hours.

Look at the road blocks you can control - Weight (body fat), basic endurance strength, fueling & hydration, clothing & comfort, plus a few others. If you completely have these under control, other issues are less likely to destroy your race. If you don't control all of these issues, once another one pops up, you are toast.

That's my 2 cents.

I say go for it, but get a couple of 50's in you first.

I like Matt's advice. I can control losing weight, committing to a training program, running at night and many other things to get myself ready. For example, this past year, I was able to run multiple hot weather events without getting dehydrated, yes I ran them slower than I may have liked but I avoided being stupid and gained confidence in my fueling/hydration methods. I also trained even more on trails and then ran some trail 50k's. So his point is well taken, with training comes confidence, with confidence, success will follow.

So what do I want to do to get there? I have decided to focus initially on a two fold approach to training or said more accurately, removing the first of many road blocks.

The first part of the program is to commit to 20 minutes a day of exercise. Why 20 minutes, well, I think that it is an achievable minimum regardless of the curves life throws at me. What qualifies as exercise, pretty much anything that gets me off of my butt. So walking, running, snowshoeing, biking, skiing, weightlifting, floor exercises would all be fine.

How will it work, since I expect to meet my 20 minute commitment 7 days a week, I will grade myself on a monthly basis. So if I workout 20 of 30 days, I score a 67% on meeting my commitment. Each month, I will work to achieve 100%. That way if I do get off track, I can correct it and not worry about my specific race training being affected directly or dishonoring a commitment to myself. I will update this as a stat weekly on my blog.

The second part (even as my body absorbs the Thanksgiving food) is that I am starting a new diet. What type, well one that will suit me. I call it my veggie/fruit/soup/nut/oatmeal diet. I will pack my lunch for work and eat an improved breakfast both that will utilize the above items. I will eat normal with the family at dinner but will again emphasis the above. I will make sure that these items become my snacks as well. The basic premise is, do I eat a Clif Bar at 250 calories or do I eat 2 apples or a bag of carrots? This way I replace easy to eat quickly foods with foods that will take longer to eat. As part of this effort, I will track calories and will adjust the intake as needed to lose weight. I figure if I start working on it in December, I will be able to adjust in January as needed and be well underway to reduce weight.

Officially, I will start the exercise and diet training program on December 1st.

I hope all had a Happy Thanksgiving, I know that I feel blessed to have a great family and good health and I look forward to a committed training program that will allow me to have another great year of running in 2009.............