Did you meet your running goals for 2004?

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Did you meet your running goals for 2004?

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

Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2004 1:09 pm

With 2004 just about over, here are my goals from the beginning of the year. 1. Qualify for the Boston Marathon (needed 3:10:59 or better). Ah, this was the biggie for me, but unforunately I didn't get it. In two marathons this fall I ran 3:15:55 and 3:24:17. Goal deferred until 2005. 2. Set new personal bests at every race distance. Yup, pretty much nailed this one, at least for the distances that matter most. I set new PRs in the 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon. I missed in the 8K and 12K, but only raced those distances once each. 3. Win some hardware. Sort of... I won 2nd place in my age group in a May 5K race, but I don't count it. The route was messed up, and was less than a mile long. Then they ran a "do over" race with the top couple of dozen people, which was still messed up (about 2.9 miles long). I'm looking for a more conclusive age group award for 2005. 4. Consistency: solid weekly mileage for the entire year. Nailed this one. Except for two post-marathon weeks, I ran at least 26 miles every week, and averaged about 50 miles per week for the entire year. Woo-hoo! Anyone else?

Bricks
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Chicago
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 222

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2004 1:20 pm

I was just doing a little of this assesment myself... 1. Loose the rest of the weight I need to loose. Check. Lost the last 70 of the 110 by August. 2. Run a marathon. Check. Ran two, Chicago and New York 3. Run 1000 miles. Soon to be check. I only have 13.1 left. 4. Beat my best high school 5K time. Unofficial check. I did it on a training run, but want to have a race result (I'm in a 5k New Year's Eve and expect to officially) For 2005 I have one goal. Qualify for Boston at Chicago in October. I too need a 3:10. PR's at all distances should be doable too. Heck, for most distances I only have 1 or 2 races under my belt in the first place.

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

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2004 3:12 pm

Didn't do too badly, although few of my goals were formalized in my thoughts. My biggest goal was a miss, and a somewhat surprising miss because I'd really expected to pull it off. I missed the 3:20:59 I needed to qualify for Boston by 2:24, but improved my PR by several minutes and ran my fall marathon a good 5 minutes faster than my spring race. What the heck...I'll get it this spring!! Set a new 5k PR which is still soft, and I should beat it readily next year. Didn't get a 10k PR, which I'd hoped for, but my fitness, favorable weather, and the availability of a 10k race never aligned this year. I'll get it in 2005! I'll hit about 1800 miles for the year, which has got to be about 800 more than I've ever run before in a year thanks to training right through the summer for my fall marathon, and continued base mileage right up until now. 2004 was a good year, but there are still many PR's ripe for the picking next year.

BGibbsLMT

Southington, CT
Joined: 12 Dec 2004
Posts: 68

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2004 10:12 pm

Kept my time at Manchester Road Race under 35:00, done. 32:37 for 4.748 miles. All the other races I did this year were first times for me so the goal is to better my times at each race next year. These were all trail races so times from one course can't really be compared to another course.

sfird
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Long Island, NY
Joined: 10 Dec 2004
Posts: 80

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:06 am

I had only two goals for this year. They were to PR at MCM and train without injury. I met my first goal with a 7 minute PR. Unfortunately I didn't meet my second as I had a minor back injury unrelated to running in June and an injury to my calf when I got back to training after MCM. Altogether I missed 6 weeks which is far better than in past years. Not to be too boring I think my goals for this year will be the same as they were for last year except I want a 15 minute or greater PR.

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

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 12:10 pm

Sorry to hear about your injuries. It sounds like they're a common problem for you? Wow, a 15 minute marathon PR would be outstanding. Good luck with your goal! Most people I know are happy to scrape a minute or two off theirs.

Bricks
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Chicago
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 222

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 12:41 pm

sfird's post brings up a tangential topic i've always been curious about other runners. Do you run the same (hometown) marathon every year? If you do 2 is one always the same, both? I, personally, plan to run Chicago every year and one other one that's different every year. I figure Chicago is my hometown race and where I'll train for PR's, etc. and the other will be for the experience and less about time. Anybody else have a marathon routine or goal like the 50/50 or something less trendy?

sfird
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Long Island, NY
Joined: 10 Dec 2004
Posts: 80

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 12:58 pm

So far I've run a Fall marathon 3 out of the last 4 years (Philly, NY and Marine Corps) and the LI 1/2 Marathon in the Spring. At this time of year my plan is to run the LI Marathon (not the 1/2) but the winter seems to interfere with my training. By the time of the marathon I figure why run the full marathon since I haven't trained as well as I would have liked. Hopefully this year the weather will be a little kinder and I'll be able to get in most of my long runs. I'm not sure which Fall marathon I'll be running this year although I wouldn't mind running NY again.

sfird
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Long Island, NY
Joined: 10 Dec 2004
Posts: 80

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 1:05 pm

While I'm generally healthy, running 40 mpw does take its toll on my 52 year old body. To be honest though, I'm pretty happy that I only lost 6 weeks of training this year. Of those 6 weeks, I was able to cross train 4 weeks so overall a pretty good year. Also, while I shouldn't say this, I wasn't sick a day this year. There's logic for the 15 minute PR goal. With this year's training I was pretty confident that I would finish MCM in 4:15. Unfortunately with the 80 degree temperature my time slipped to 4:28. I figure with another good year of training and more appropriate Fall weather 4:13 is a reasonable goal. I'll let you know how it turns out.

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

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 1:28 pm

The San Francisco Marathon is pretty poor by most measures, so I don't plan to make it a habit. Even if the organization and support were better, the course is still very hilly and tough. I do like traveling to "destination marathons" and making a vacation out of it, but the expense means I need to do most of my races close to home if I can.

psulli
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Vancouver, BC
Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 21

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 3:55 pm

1) Like some others, I was hoping to qualify for Boston and didn't make the 3:45 required in my 55 plus age group, running 4:03 in Portland and 4:00 at the California International Marathon. Still, I'm just happy to be heading in the right direction. I guess the quest for Moby Marathon continues. Next opp: Vancouver, May 1. 2) The other, and more important goal, was to remember why I run in the first place. I have a tendency to forget and start obsessing about training schedules, PBs, nutrition, injuries, etc. etc. I run because it's FUN. And the best kind of fun too. The kind that forces you to get in touch with your inner animal and sweat and eat the hills alive, find out what's around the next corner and wipe your nose with your sleeve and stick your head under a garden hose on a hot summer day. Mission accomplished.

BGibbsLMT

Southington, CT
Joined: 12 Dec 2004
Posts: 68

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:23 pm

Rickshaw wrote:
The San Francisco Marathon is pretty poor by most measures, so I don't plan to make it a habit. Even if the organization and support were better, the course is still very hilly and tough..

Why does a hilly tough course make a poor marathon? My favorite marathon (Nipmuck Trail) has a course record of about 3 hours. If it wasn't so tough why do it?

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

Re: Did you meet your running goals for 2004? Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2004 10:11 am

The hills don't make it a bad race by themselves, but they make it a poor choice for a Boston qualifier attempt, which is my main goal right now. I've done hilly trail races in the past, and they're certainly fun, but not my focus these days. But the bigger problem with the SF marathon is the total absence of spectators (in fact, outright hostility of the people you do encounter) and "traffic breaks" where runners are stopped to let cars pass through the route. Read some of the reviews on MarathonGuide.com. The SF Marathon is one of the poorest reviewed major races in the country.

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