what are your goals?

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what are your goals?

Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

what are your goals? Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:21 am

Group participation time: What keeps you motivated? What are your goals? Are you primarily interested in fitness and self-esteem, or do you focus more on racing and setting new personal bests? Do you think your goals will change after you gain more experience as a runner?

Rustyboy

LA, CA
Joined: 14 Dec 2004
Posts: 225

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 4:21 pm

Long term goal: The Western States 100. It used to be the Badwater 135, but I just watched "Running on the Sun"...watching someone vomit on themselves at mile 110 and they're RUNNING WHILE IT'S HAPPENING AND THEY CONTINUE RUNNING? Screw that! What keeps me motivated: Without getting too esoteric, I think of running as my "church". My 3 hour mountain runs are more than exercise or participating in a sport, it's my meditation time, where it's just me and what's happening right then and there. My sister is in town, and tomorrow we're doing part of my long run togther (she just started seriously running last year). I can't wait to share that experience with her!

Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:00 pm

My goals are definitely race oriented, which is maybe a bad thing, because I get pretty down when races don't go well. Given that sooner or later, I'll reach a time when I can no longer set new PRs, I'll need to find something new to motivate me. Maybe I'll switch to doing triathlons or ultramarathons, or just leave my watch at home and go running for its own sake. My short-term goals are to improve my best times at distances from 5K to marathon. I'd especially like to break 20:00 for 5K, and qualify again for the Boston Marathon. Long-term, if I really worked my ass off, I could see a sub-3:00 marathon as a lifetime running goal. Rustyboy, I've thought about WS100 too. That is one hell of a challenge! Maybe someday we'll run it together... Your thoughts about running being your "church" also resonate with me. It is great to have that time to think and reflect. That's why it always amazes me when other people tell me that they get bored on their long runs.

Rustyboy

LA, CA
Joined: 14 Dec 2004
Posts: 225

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:31 pm

Run the WS 100 together? Perfect! However, neither of us has very much hair for the other to hold as he pukes.

mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 5:30 pm

Ahhh...what a charming "Brokeback" moment that would be.

Rustyboy

LA, CA
Joined: 14 Dec 2004
Posts: 225

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:52 am

Rickshaw, I can't quit y - - Bleeeeeeeaaaaarrrrrgh!!!!!! I hope Boston went well for ya! I couldn't remember your last name, but I saw Bricks ran 3:20-ish!

mrbill

Sub-Chicago
Joined: 09 May 2006
Posts: 84

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 7:05 am

My goals are race oriented as well. PR's from 5K to Marathon as rickshaw stated, only these are pretty much short and long term. I really would like to focus this season on getting my 5K time under 21:00. From there I want to BQ at Chicago this year and run Boston next April.... I can dream, can't I??

Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 9:50 am

What time do you need for your BQ? If you can do a 21:00 5K, then you're in the right neigborhood for a BQ time. A 21:00 minute 5K is about the same fitness level as a 3:20 marathon. If you're on the cusp, you can always wait a few years until you move into the next older age group, and the BQ cutoff time gets easier. It worked for me! Of course, you get slower as you get older, so a BQ when you're in your 40s, 50s, or beyond isn't necessarily any easier than when you're 20.

mrbill

Sub-Chicago
Joined: 09 May 2006
Posts: 84

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 7:24 am

BQ time for me is 3:30:59 or faster. I ran my first Marathon last year in 3:39.19, so I'm hoping experience alone will get me that time. (if I can stay injury free) I just turned 46 years old and it would be awesome to BQ this year, and run Boston next year. I also am trying to go sub 21 this year for 5K....

mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 6:09 pm

I've got a number of different goals for this year. - Get down under 180lbs. This goal alone should go a long way to help me achieve my other goals. - I will once again try to qualify for Boston. I get an extra 10 minutes this year (3:30:59). - Complete 3-4 marathons in other states that I've not done yet (I'm considering the Delaware Marathon next on 5/21). Another will be the Mount Desert Island Marathon in October (I've been registered for several months already). The other will be determined later based on my schedule - Finish in under 2 hours at the New Jersey State Triathlon on 7/23 (Olympic distance: 1500mSwim/40kBike/10kRun) - Improve my 5K time (PR 20:06) - Improve my Half Marathon time (PR 1:38:16) - Complete a 50 mile ultra.

Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 6:48 pm

Sounds like a good goal plan! Which ones do you think will be easiest, and hardest? Your 5K PR suggests that your half-marathon PR is soft and ripe for the picking! Finishing 3-4 marathons and a 50 mile ultra in one year would be an awesome accomplishment too.

mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 7:25 pm

I don't expect to be in peak shape until around October. That's when I'll do the Staten Island Half Marathon and try to improve on my PR. A couple weeks before that I'll try to improve my 5K PR at the local town race. I've started incoporating the most difficult part of that course (a couple long hills) into some of my daily runs. I ran four marathons last year and found it to be relatively easy when you don't run them all hard. I'll do the same this year with the intention of running three of them as long training runs and saving one (ideally the last one) as my goal A race. I hope to do a 50 mile ultra more for the experience to see if it's something I might want to do more of. I plan on doing that one easy too. Depending on how my body feels, how the season has been going, and my schedule I may do a Half Ironman triathlon in the early fall. My weekly running milage has gotten up to about 50 miles a week and my body is feeling pretty good (knock on wood). I've been adding about 40-50 miles on the bike ((2-3 sessions/week) about 3-5 miles swimming on top of all that. The workouts aren't nearly as exhausting as the mental fatigue of trying to figure out how to sqeeze the workouts into my schedule. So, physically, I feel like I can do more. So, if I can manage to stay healthy I'll consider the Half Ironman distance.

OldManRunner
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Rochester, NY
Joined: 28 Nov 2004
Posts: 262

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 6:46 pm

Mfox we must have similar birthdays...I picked up the 3:30:59 BQ threshold myself this year, although I won't actually be 45 until January. And my 1/2 marathon PR is almost identical to yours. But you must have a much higher ratio of those fast twitch muscle fibers than I do, because your 5k PR is more than a minute faster than mine! You've got a very real chance of breaking 20 minutes, whereas for me I think that may just be a pipe dream.

Rustyboy

LA, CA
Joined: 14 Dec 2004
Posts: 225

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 6:54 pm

Whoa, a 1/2 IM? Sweet! I've been training for an Oly and Sprint in the fall, mixing in 2 days of cycling (30-40 miles) and 2 days of swimming, about 30-45 mns per day. But my running mileage isn't nearly as high as yours (somewhere around 20-25 miles). Color me impressed!

Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 2:58 pm

You triathlon guys... I've always thought it would be cool, but I'm such a non-swimmer that it would be tough. In school, I used to get these terrible panic attacks every year when swimming class would roll around: couldn't relax, couldn't sleep, couldn't even eat much. I hated swimming, and was terrified of it. I've barely been in the water since high school. Oddly enough, though, I had THREE separate dreams about swimming just last night. First I was in an empty pool, and I struggled slowly through a few laps, but I was doing it. I was ecstatic. Then I "woke up", and was incredibly disappointed it had only been a dream, and so I signed up for a sport swimming class. I went to the first lesson, and practiced pulling myself through the water with my arms. Then I really woke up, and was disappointed all over again. Finally I fell back asleep, and had still another dream where I was back in the pool, doing laps by myself.

Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 3:01 pm

Mrbill, that's awesome! With a 3:39 time in your very first marathon, you should have a great shot at getting down under 3:30 to make your BQ. Sub-21 5K would be awesome as well. Sounds like you, mfox, and OldManRunner are all about the same place, shooting for similar goals.

mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: what are your goals? Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 7:59 pm

Rickshaw wrote:
You triathlon guys... I've always thought it would be cool, but I'm such a non-swimmer that it would be tough. In school, I used to get these terrible panic attacks every year when swimming class would roll around: couldn't relax, couldn't sleep, couldn't even eat much. I hated swimming, and was terrified of it. I've barely been in the water since high school

I used to be a horrible swimmer (i'm not that great now...but much better). I was even an life guard for a few years (at a country club) and somehow manage to pass all the required written and swimming tests to get my Senior LIfesaving and WSI certificates. But I've never felt perfectly comfortable in the water. I'm better, but I still get a little freaked with the thought of being nibbled on by a fish (which happened to me a lot when I was little swimming in a nearby quarry), or seeing something in the water below me as I'm swimming. I've had man "creepy" experiences in the water and I don't know if I'll ever feel perfectly comfortable. But I know that by relaxing it makes a world of difference. So when I start to feel a panic attack I just try to relax and it always helps.

Richshaw, do you have access to a swimming pool (i.e. YMCA, JCC, Community Pools, High School/College)? If so, I strongly encourage you to just go give it a try. Set a goal to complete 9 sessions (3/week). Go with the intention to just swim as slowly and relaxed as you can. Don't set tme or distance as a goal. In fact, swim half a length if that's all you can do, stop and rest, and then do it again. Spend 20-30 minutes in the pool doing this. But focus on just floating as you swim and letting it feel like play. Don't worry too much about form. These sessions are to get you comfortable in the water. Once you feel more comfotable you'll be able to relax. Once you can relax you can start focusing on swim technique.

Remember when you first started running. It's very much the same thing. Take baby steps with no pressure on yourself.

Check out "Total Immersion" swim technique. This is ideal for beginners. The ideal is to start by relaxing and swim by feel. I bought the book a few months ago and it is helping me swim more effortlessly.

Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

swimming Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 4:05 pm

I'm not afraid of the water, I'm just terrible at swimming, and afraid of completely falling to pieces in a group lesson or workout. Back in school, I can remember being told to do 4 laps as a "warm up" in class, when I could barely manage even one, and that would kill me for the rest of the day. Last summer while camping near an alpine lake, I tried swimming a short distance from the shore to a little island. I made it, but I was absolutely wiped out, as if I'd just run an all-out mile, yet I probably only went 30 yards. I think one of my chief problems is that I don't really know how to breathe, and I'm nearly holding my breath the whole way. I checked around, and there's a fitness club near me that offers adult swim lessons for non-members. There's a basic class that might be right: "This class is geared toward adults who know how to swim freestyle for at least 25 yards, but need to achieve a level of assurance in the water before advancing to a fitness swimming level." It's $60 for 4 weeks, one 1-hour lesson per week. If I get past that, there's also a Masters class that does longer endurance workouts of 2000-4000 yards, with many of the people training for triathlons. That might be a little more than I could handle though. There is a YMCA near me, but not as close as the fitness club. Their swim lessons are $60 for 4 weeks, two half-hour lessons per week. They don't seem to offer adult swim lessons, as far as I can see. I could also just borrow a wet suit, and jump into the bay... :-)

mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: swimming Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 5:28 pm

Rickshaw wrote:
I checked around, and there's a fitness club near me that offers adult swim lessons for non-members. There's a basic class that might be right: "This class is geared toward adults who know how to swim freestyle for at least 25 yards, but need to achieve a level of assurance in the water before advancing to a fitness swimming level." It's $60 for 4 weeks, one 1-hour lesson per week. If I get past that, there's also a Masters class that does longer endurance workouts of 2000-4000 yards, with many of the people training for triathlons. That might be a little more than I could handle though.

That class sounds perfect. It's all about feeling comfortable in the water. You'll find it much easier to breath when you're comfortable. One of my goals is to become better at bi-lateral breathing (breathing to both sides). It's much easier for me to breath to the right. So I'm try to spend more time breathing to the left. I find that if I relax and focus on keeping my head down (not lifting) as I turn so that my ear stays in the water I can get more air.

Check out the "Total Immersion" web site (http://www.totalimmersion.net). You can get an idea of what's in the book before you buy it. They also offer workshops around the country (including San Fran).

Okay...now back to running...

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