I rarely buy race pictures, but this one from last year was too good to pass up! I look so focused & in the zone. It was taken early on so I wasn't a sweaty mess. And if you look really close, both of my feet are off the ground. Floating like a butterfly :)
Last year I set a new half marathon PR at this race. I had a pretty good race (race recap HERE), but I will admit that deep down I knew/know I had more to give. I realized last year after almost every race, that while I had good races, some with excellent results I had not given 100%. Oh, I ran hard and fast, but I've been left wondering what would happen if I left it all out there? I think that is the driving force of my goals this year. And before I come off as too cocky and confident let me admit, it scares the crap out of me!!
So I have big dreams for this year. BIG! Based on my current running and not so great year I'm having, maybe too big, but I'm not going to let that keep me from finding out! I may fall flat on face (figuratively, I hope not literally!!) with my goals, but no one can fault me for not trying.
Here are my race goals:
My I FINISHED goal:
To arrive on time. To start. To finish. aka: finish feeling fine & having fun. Worse case scenario I just go out & have fun. Not my plan, but I can always revert to this if I have to.
My I CAN goal:
Finish in 1:45:00
I picked this time because it means I average an 8 minute pace. Although I didn't blog about it (one of those that I meant to do) I did get some very solid speed workouts in lately. What works best for me when I do this is 1 mile repeats. From those workouts I found that an 8 minute pace is very manageable for me. It's a nice tempo, but it's far from pushing it or going all out. I ran this pace & time for my very first half marathon 5 years ago. I can do this!
My I LOVE IT goal:
To beat my PR which is currently 1:40:38 that was set last year. Anytime I can improve on a previous time makes me very happy!
To finish is 1:30:00.
I set this goal back in January. It's my big, be scared out of your mind, goal. Coming off of 2013 this seemed very possible!! Now, uh, yeah....pretty nervous about it. In fact when I sat down to write this I looked up that pace & it's a 6:52 pace. *gulp* However, going back to my 1 mile repeats I know that a 7 minute pace is very do-able and not even my all out pace. I just don't have a lot of experience - ok no experience- with racing this long of a distance at this pace, but I know I have it in me. So I go out & finish with giving 100% and that's when my dreams become a reality!
Be watching my INSTRGRAM for updates on my race tomorrow.
You can do it!!!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear how many of those goals you smashed!!!
Good luck - can't wait to hear about the race!