Saw this on the Ouabache River Runner’s Facebook page. Not sure of the original source, but it seems to fit.
January’s coming to a close and I still haven’t written up my running goals for the year. Mostly that’s because I was so focused on last year’s breakout goals – running my first marathon and running the HUFF 50k trail run just before my 50th birthday – that I never stopped to think what I might do after that.
Well, the answer is suddenly obvious, if a bit intimidating: Why not take advantage of being a “youngster” in my new age group and try for a couple of age-group wins this year?
Two races strike me as worthwhile challenges: The Swiss Days 5k, where the top 50-and-up finisher ran a 26:31 last summer (an 8:30 pace), and the Parlor City Trot Half-Marathon, where the top 50-something woman finished in just under 2 hours – in 1:58:03, a pace of 9:01 per mile.
Both of those would be serious PRs for me, but with this kind of lead time I think I could get there. It will be fun to try, anyway. And even if I miss, I’ll still be getting faster at 50 than at any point in my 40s, which would be a pretty sweet consolation prize.
(I have a couple of other goals related to trail running and triathlon that are beginning to materialize as well, but I think I’ll give those time to germinate.)
Good luck! If you get stuck for speed, ride your bike in between running days and/or immediately after running – you should recover twice as fast and the spinning will absolutely make you a faster runner.
Good idea. Interesting to think that wanting to get better at running might be what finally gets me back on the bike. Thanks!