November PRs

From a running perspective, November was a great month for me. I started with the huge PR on my half marathon time at the Wilson Bridge Half, finishing in 2:01:28. I am so very close to my goal of beating 2 hours, and I know that’s going to be a reality in 2014. I also entered two other ‘races’ and had PRs in both. I put races in quotes because one was an event with the moms running group I belong to (MRTT) and wasn’t an official event, but we did time ourselves so I still count it.

A couple of ladies decided it would be fun to have a mile race just to see how fast we could run if we were only running for one mile. I was always curious too, because I never just do one mile. If I put it all out there, what could I do that mile in? So we did just that. I knew it would hurt, and I knew I needed to push myself.  I started out a little faster that I should have and faded a bit, but it was hard to know how to pace for a one mile race. I actually think it would have been easier on a track because you can easily see how you are doing for each quarter mile (lap). The weather was very cold and windy, and we ended up with the headwind the entire mile. Excuses, excuses, I know so here is the time: 7:37. I think without the headwind, I could have run closer to 7 minutes. I started out running a 7:15 pace and faded, and I think that was mostly due to the headwind. It was so strong that I was crying from the wind. Anyways, we are planning to do this every few months to see how we improve so I’m eager to try again and see how close I can get to a 7 minute mile…and gasp, even possibly a sub-7 minute mile. I never ran the mile hard in high school so I have no idea how fast I was when I was younger, but I’m happy to be able to push the paces in my (gasp, again) late 30s.

Lastly, I entered a 5 mile race in Freehold while we were in New Jersey for Thanksgiving. I have never run a 5 mile race so this was an obvious PR for me. But I did set a goal to run sub 45 minutes (9 minute miles or better). The course starts out downhill and then has some rolling hills, a flat loop around a lake and then finishes up the hills you ran down in the beginning. I knew to pace myself for the hills at the end, and I didn’t think a negative split would be possible so I wanted to start out fast and give myself some breathing room at the end for those hills. I did just that, starting out at about 8 minute mile pace. Maybe more like 8:15 pace, but it felt very comfortable. I kept looking at my Garmin thinking I’d be slipping with my pace, but I held very steady. The pace felt comfortable the entire race so I just went with it. I did slow down a bit in the last 2 miles because of those hills, but I still maintained around an 8:30 pace. I ended up crushing my goal and finishing in 41:28 – an average of 8:19 for 5 miles! I was 7^th in my age group…it was a small race but still, a top 10 finish in women aged 30-39.  I was very proud of myself, and I felt pretty accomplished. I think with a smart attack, I can beat 40 minutes in my next 5 miler. Of course, I have no idea when that will be.

While I'm on the subject of running, here are my goals for 2014:

Break 2 hours for a Half Marathon – see notes above. I definitely think this is an achievable goal for my next half.

Run 1,000 miles – this should be very attainable, considering I’m going to break 800 for 2013 and I started out the year running pretty minimally. I just need to be more consistent – and if I end up doing a fall marathon again like I am considering, I will crush that. Even without a marathon, I can still do a 1,000 with just 20 miles per week – very manageable.

Run a 5K for time – After my 5 mile PR, I am very curious how fast I could run a 5K. With my one mile time below 8 minutes, I am pretty confident I can break 24 minutes but I’m not sure how much below that I can push. Again, it’s just a matter of pushing myself and I almost never just run 3.1 miles so I really don’t know what I am capable of in that distance.

Strength train and cross train more – I believe being well rounded will make me a better runner. I’ve already started to include yoga once a week and I love it. It’s so good to stretch and flex, and I know it’s helping my sore muscles. I also want to include some strength training to build up my muscle endurance. I used to do that once a week but I have gotten away from it when I started running consistently. I want to incorporate that once again and I know it will help my running.

Break 4 hours in a marathon – I know I said I wasn’t sure I would run a marathon again, and I’m still not sure. But I have this nagging feeling that I can improve my time, and I feel I would be regret it if I didn’t give it a shot. I think a Spring Marathon is too much, but I feel a Fall Marathon would work for me. The only thing that worries me is my left foot. I’m not sure the bunionectomy can hold up for another marathon training cycle, especially if I am pushing myself to faster paces in hopes of a better time. So this is a maybe goal, I will likely decide once 2014 is underway.