Now that we are in the second half of 2014, it seemed like a good time to look at

Training YTD

Through June 30th I have run 57 times for a total of 458 miles. I’m a little short of what I need to be at if I am going to run 1,000 miles in 2014.

Around New Years I looked at my 2013 miles and thought that 2014 miles in 2014 was possible.

Upon further examination of the numbers, I realized that I had included about 800 air miles in my initial calculation for 2013. When I backed out the air miles that I had tracked on my watch, 1,000 miles seemed like a stretch goal.

The next time you are on a plane, start your watch before the plane leaves the gate. Once the plane is in the air you cannot lock onto satellites. Once you are locked on it is pretty funny to hear your watch chime a lap every 5 seconds!

Doing the math, 57 runs in 6 months is less than 2.5 runs per week; it’s 2.375 runs to be exact. Pretty week. However, I did take about four weeks off for my injury and two weeks after Boston. If I back out those 6 weeks, that leaves 18 weeks where I should have been running consistently. Re-calculating 55 runs over 18 weeks gets me to just over 3 runs per week. That is on track.

2014 Races

Since January 1st I have run 14 races, including 2 marathons, for a total of 141.9 racing miles. About 30% of my total miles this year have been racing miles. I have run at least one race each month this year, except for July! I think I need to find a local 5k pretty quick. Anyone have a good suggestion for the Boston area this weekend?

Even though I’ve been training for the Baystate Marathon for two weeks, I just signed up for the race Monday! Each time I thought about signing up I was doing something else and would then forget. I was beginning to worry they would sell out by the time I got my butt in gear. I’m all set now and I have the receipt to prove it!

With my fall marathon locked in, my miles will start to increase and I should be able to put a good dent in the 542 miles I need to run by December 31st. I should hit 25 miles this week and hope to peak around 40 or so. That’s not a lot of miles for a serious runner. But for me, those are about all of the miles I have time for.

I’m going to try to stay focused on getting to 1,000 miles this year. This goal will help me stay motivated even when I don’t have a race. I’ve kind of forgotten about that goal as I’ve gone from one marathon to the next without much time to think about anything except transitioning from training to rest to training again. 1,000 miles is the big picture I need to focus on. I need to work and push my self. I also need to avoid an injury that could take me off the road for a few weeks.

Three marathons in one year will be a new record for me. I hadn’t given it much thought until now. These races just fell into place and I decided to accept the opportunities into my life. I could do more marathons but there has to be a limit. When the joy of running turns into the chore of running the meaning is lost. The accomplishment becomes another check box. Without out joy and appreciation, what’s the point?

Some friends are trying to talk me into running Philly the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I’m up for a road trip. But is it a marathon to far?

Run well my Friends!

Andy

©2014 anagelin