Goals

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost two months since returning from Colorado. My last blog was when returning home waiting in the Chicago airport. I have lots to share since my last post. When training in Colorado I was going through a rough patch of injuries and not feeling at my best. Like I always say, that's part of the game. If you want to be great at anything you have to find that perfect balance. That varies from person to person. My first week back from altitude was a disaster. I arrived home fairly late and had to be up at 5am for my internship at Endorphin Fitness. During that first week my sleeping patterns were off and I just wanted to do nothing but sleep. Since I was nursing some injuries I thought it would be best to take a few days off. Since settling back in that first week training has been great! Life has been nuts been I'm doing the best I can. That next week Richmond got hit by a huge snowstorm which was a pain in the ass, literally. I slipped on some ice, falling directly on my hip. I didn't take any time off but decided to hit the treadmill over the next several days. The next week we received more snow, and the pattern has continued for a while. I didn't get the workouts in I would have liked so I decided against racing till March. For once I resisted the temptation in order to prepare my body to deliver to the best of it's abilities when the time is right. I mean yes it would have been nice to see what I could have run after coming down from altitude, but I have some lofty goal and want to achieve those goals by seasons end. So since returning I've put in 8 solid weeks of training. My mileage has been between 70-80 miles a week with a down week every 4th week of the cycle. During that down week I've still been around 65 or so. My workouts have been incredible the past several week. I've also been doing drills several times a week and hitting the gym twice a week. Things I never did consistently in the past. I believe all the small things will help build a better foundation which in return minimizes injuries and helps maximize performance. I've been posting my training on a new site called runpartner.com. I really like the way it's set up and will be sending links from my training log daily to my blog for those interested. Anyhow I'd like to share my goals with everyone. People may think I'm crazy because some of these things I've never come close to doing before. That's my reasoning for sharing with everyone. I'm not scared to put everything on the table and take risks. First I want to stay healthy and enjoy the sport. Yes competing and running fast is important to me, but being happy is my main focus. Next I'd like to run sub 24:00 at the Shamrock 8k on March 20th. That next Friday I will be competing in the 5k at the Raleigh relays. My goal for that race is sub 14:00. After that I will drop down and race a slew of 1500's. I will either compete at the Colonial relays on April 2nd or the Duke invite. This will be my first 1500 of the season. I'd like to run sub 3:45 but time is not the issue at this point. Every race I enter will be to win. I love racing, so putting myself in position to win is what it's all about. The USATF championships are at the end of June. The A standard for the 1500 is 3:41 and the B standard is 3:45. Everything I do this season wil be geared towards qualifying and racing well at the USATF champs in June. My fist race of the season is this weekend at a local 5k in Richmond. I've been feeling tired but hitting all my times while working out. The first place prize is $250! I could use the extra cash and a good solid effort before Shamrock. Like I mentioned I'll be posting my training daily. Hope everyone is having a great year and living life to it's fullest.

Guy