2014 Running Goals: Full Speed Ahead!

I’m still reveling in the fresh, clean feel of a new year!  How about you?  My 2014 has been wonderful so far: a memorable road trip to New Orleans, some much-needed slow time at home, perusing an inspiring cookbook, a slow ramp-up to new work in the new year—I feel restored and ready to go.  I’ve been doing a little running to start training for the Armadillo Dash half-marathon in March, and I’m excited to settle into a running rhythm. 

This year I have a big-picture idea of where I want to go with my fitness, so I decided to lay out some goals to give me a road map.  I only have one race on the calendar for 2014, but I’m hoping to run another marathon in 2015: Toronto! I had such a good experience running Detroit in 2013 that I’m coming back for more.  Friends, if Toronto intrigues you, drop me a line!  I think it would be amazing to have some of you there with me.  At this point, my friends JD, Josh, and perhaps Val(?) are interested in running Toronto with me.  Maybe I can even convince Paul to make the big trip north to spend time with me in that city.  That would be just lovely, methinks.

For now, let’s talk about goals!   

* Run 40 miles or more each month in January, February, and March.

I had set this as an aspirational goal in November and December but fell short.  Now’s the time to make it happen, especially with a half-marathon on the schedule in March!

* Run the Armadillo Dash half-marathon in March.

Self-explanatory.

* Bike commute to campus once a week, just for the love of biking!

I feel like I’ve fallen out of my biking habits, and I want to reconnect with my pedaling self.  I’ll be on campus 3-4 days a week this semester for work, so biking to and from campus is an easy way to get back in the habit.

* In the fall, build a solid running base in order to train for the Toronto Marathon in 2015.

My running book suggests that a solid base for marathon training is four 30-minute runs per week.  I’ve found that running four days a week is hard for me, but three days a week plus activity (walking, biking, yoga, etc.) is a good balance.  With that in mind, three 30-minute runs per week in the last two or three months of 2014 will be my goal.

I know that many of you have already posted your 2014 fitness goals, so I’ll ask you this: how are things going for you? I wish you the best of luck on your fitness journey!