Sliding toward my goals...

ounce wrote:I think you need to slowly work on training to attempt a Boston to see if your body, mind, and life's other activities can be slowly stirred into your life.  Now is not the time to add the rigors of Boston training.  

Whatever your timeline for Boston, add a year.  Boston will still be around and mind & body will be more compliant.  Dare I suspect that Miche1e will still be running them, when you go again.

I couldn't agree more with your analysis Doug.  I listened to a couple of Luke Humphrey's podcasts recently and that's the conclusion I came to as well.  He talks about planning long term...2 years or even more...for big goals.  He also talks about making sure your committed to your goal and willing to make it a priority, have family support etc.  I'm reassessing my plans moving forward.  Boston...maybe...but it will be a long term goal.

***
Freezing fog this morning.  It was nasty.  It finally cleared enough to head out...and warmed to 30 degrees.
Up early for Liift4 Chest & Triceps
3 miles @ 10:53 HR 144/157 Cad 161 SL .92
I started a bit to fast.  Bet you've never heard me say that before.     I was trying to keep my steps short and quick just it case it was still a bit slippery.  And I was also trying to stay warm.  Oh well.  I don't think 3 miles at that pace did any harm.  It wasn't too fast.  Just too fast to qualify as a recovery run.

Should be a bit warmer the rest of the week.

Nice. This afternoon, I thought about the 'family's buy-in to Boston 2 years out because of their perception that you're not biting off too much too soon.

Not falling on your butt (or forearm in my case) is always a good goal, no matter the pace. I remember 'freezing fog' from last year. Still hard to visualize.

Think carefully on the plan. It's accomplishing your ability to run at pace, while carrying a tray of 4 glasses of champagne. Guess what the glasses represent? Uh huh. You know.

Merry Belated Christmas, Nancy!

A return to Boston would be so exciting for you. But making it a long-term plan sounds smart, given everything else going on. 

Are they doing a virtual event this coming year? It might be fun to do a virtual Boston as a training run for an eventual return to Beantown.

ounce wrote:Nice.  This afternoon, I thought about the 'family's buy-in to Boston 2 years out because of their perception that you're not biting off too much too soon.

Not falling on your butt (or forearm in my case) is always a good goal, no matter the pace.  I remember 'freezing fog' from last year.  Still hard to visualize.

Think carefully on the plan.  It's accomplishing your ability to run at pace, while carrying a tray of 4 glasses of champagne.  Guess what the glasses represent?  Uh huh.  You know.

Mark B wrote:Merry Belated Christmas, Nancy!

A return to Boston would be so exciting for you. But making it a long-term plan sounds smart, given everything else going on. 

Are they doing a virtual event this coming year? It might be fun to do a virtual Boston as a training run for an eventual return to Beantown.

You guys got a bit ahead of me.  I am considering making a BQ and a return to Boston a goal but I haven't decided yet if I'm going to commit yet.  IF I do it will be a long term goal and I'll seed the help of a coach to help me get there.  I learned a lot about running...and myself...this year.  I need to consider that new knowledge when/if I set goals moving forward.  I'm planning to start a new blog soon and I'll elaborate there.

***
Tuesday Liift4 Back and Biceps
5 miles @ 11:39 HR 140/153 Cad 157
Slowed a bit and kept this run pretty consistent.  Not a great HR but acceptable.

Wednesday Liift4 Shoulders 
5 miles @ 11:29 HR 143/156 Cad 157
Took off a bit fast and it shows in my HR even though I slowed a bit as the run progressed.

Thursday Liift4 Legs Hiit    That will wake you up!
10 miles @ 11:34 HR 145/160 Cad 160
Janice suggested a long run to finish out the year.  Then she invited a couple other friends.  I started early and met up with Janice with a couple extra miles under my belt.  We picked up Nailon a bit later and then Anita.  We finished toghether at the park.  A very helpful gentleman stopped to help us get a group photo and then I took everyone home.  It was a great way to finish out my running year!!

Headed up to see the grandkids.  I'll add more info later.

It's our job to get ahead of you.  

So, that 10 mile run with the group.  Did you have extended periods of not running?  Enough to almost reset your heart rate a couple of times or into the 90s before resuming?  If not, that's excellent.  I was just looking that your cardiac creep might be a bit light for 10 miles.

Happy New Year, Nancy.  Diagnose that stress.  We can work on it.

A coach sounds like a good idea for all of us, actually. We could use some adult supervision.

ounce wrote:It's our job to get ahead of you.  

So, that 10 mile run with the group.  Did you have extended periods of not running?  Enough to almost reset your heart rate a couple of times or into the 90s before resuming?  If not, that's excellent.  I was just looking that your cardiac creep might be a bit light for 10 miles.

Happy New Year, Nancy.  Diagnose that stress.  We can work on it.

Yes, working on managing my stress levels will need to be my most important goal in 2021 no matter what other running goals I do/don't choose.

As far as my 10 mile run HR goes...it's about what I expected.  I never stopped and allowed my HR to recover but I did change pace during the run.  I started out on my own for the first couple miles and tackled the big hill before I connected up with Janice so my HR shot up relatively quickly.  I slowed slightly but we kept the pace in the mid 11s.  Once we picked up Nailan at around mile 5 we had to slow to the low 12s or high 11s.  Anita jumped in a half mile later at that pace.  When we got to the park I needed a half mile to get to my goal of 10 miles so I took off and rounded the park at a pretty good clip with my HR rising as expected.  All things considered I'm very happy with both HR and cadence.  It's tough when you're running with others but I do think that it also helps to take my mind off of the actual run so I can calm down a bit.

***
There was an awesome summary of my running miles for the year on Garmin Connect.  I looked at it after my run on the 31st but I didn't take a screen shot.  It won't display now as it's transitioned into the new year.  In summary 1145.3 miles for the calendar year (my old record was 975 in 2017).  I actually have 1195.8 recorded in my paper log but that's because early in the year I included some walking warm up miles.  I plan to use 1145 for my long term record.  Considering I didn't start running consistently until April that's pretty impressive.  I think I've proven that I can run more miles and more days per week safely and consistently.  If I take Jan/Feb/Mar out of the total I averaged 112 miles per month (26 miles per week).  And I averaged running 5 times per week.  That's amazing for me!  What it tells me is that I can train differently than I have ever trained in the past.  

• I've learned that I can move past 3 day per week running and safely run more often. 
  
• I've learned that I can improve with more slow miles.  I didn't complete an actual training plan this year...just worked on building base...and still ran the fastest 5K I've run since pre-cardiac event.
  
• I've also realized that if I'm going to seriously consider a stretch goal like running a BQ it needs to be a long term goal and I need to concentrate on that goal.  I can't get sidetracked with races that aren't in the plan.  I need to cross train but I can't let cross training take to much time/energy away from my running.  I realize that I have farm/family obligations that will affect my training but I need to have the support of my family and make running a priority as much as possible.  I need to consider how travel plans will affect my training
  
• I think I'm going to need help...input from a coach...to be more successful.  I'm not sure yet how much input I'll need but I'm going to reach out for help in analyzing what I've done in the past, where I am today, and what I'm capable of moving forward.
  

***
I finished the year with an awesome 1145 calendar year miles and a fun 10 mile group run.

I think this is a good time to put this blog to bed and focus on something other than "sliding toward my goals".  Still working on the specifics but a new blog is coming...

Ultreya...

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:It's our job to get ahead of you.  

So, that 10 mile run with the group.  Did you have extended periods of not running?  Enough to almost reset your heart rate a couple of times or into the 90s before resuming?  If not, that's excellent.  I was just looking that your cardiac creep might be a bit light for 10 miles.

Happy New Year, Nancy.  Diagnose that stress.  We can work on it.

Yes, working on managing my stress levels will need to be my most important goal in 2021 no matter what other running goals I do/don't choose.

As far as my 10 mile run HR goes...it's about what I expected.  I never stopped and allowed my HR to recover but I did change pace during the run.  I started out on my own for the first couple miles and tackled the big hill before I connected up with Janice so my HR shot up relatively quickly.  I slowed slightly but we kept the pace in the mid 11s.  Once we picked up Nailan at around mile 5 we had to slow to the low 12s or high 11s.  Anita jumped in a half mile later at that pace.  When we got to the park I needed a half mile to get to my goal of 10 miles so I took off and rounded the park at a pretty good clip with my HR rising as expected.  All things considered I'm very happy with both HR and cadence.  It's tough when you're running with others but I do think that it also helps to take my mind off of the actual run so I can calm down a bit.

***
There was an awesome summary of my running miles for the year on Garmin Connect.  I looked at it after my run on the 31st but I didn't take a screen shot.  It won't display now as it's transitioned into the new year.  In summary 1145.3 miles for the calendar year (my old record was 975 in 2017).  I actually have 1195.8 recorded in my paper log but that's because early in the year I included some walking warm up miles.  I plan to use 1145 for my long term record.  Considering I didn't start running consistently until April that's pretty impressive.  I think I've proven that I can run more miles and more days per week safely and consistently.  If I take Jan/Feb/Mar out of the total I averaged 112 miles per month (26 miles per week).  And I averaged running 5 times per week.  That's amazing for me!  What it tells me is that I can train differently than I have ever trained in the past.  

• I've learned that I can move past 3 day per week running and safely run more often. 
  
• I've learned that I can improve with more slow miles.  I didn't complete an actual training plan this year...just worked on building base...and still ran the fastest 5K I've run since pre-cardiac event.
  
• I've also realized that if I'm going to seriously consider a stretch goal like running a BQ it needs to be a long term goal and I need to concentrate on that goal.  I can't get sidetracked with races that aren't in the plan.  I need to cross train but I can't let cross training take to much time/energy away from my running.  I realize that I have farm/family obligations that will affect my training but I need to have the support of my family and make running a priority as much as possible.  I need to consider how travel plans will affect my training
  
• I think I'm going to need help...input from a coach...to be more successful.  I'm not sure yet how much input I'll need but I'm going to reach out for help in analyzing what I've done in the past, where I am today, and what I'm capable of moving forward.
  

***
I finished the year with an awesome 1145 calendar year miles and a fun 10 mile group run.

I think this is a good time to put this blog to bed and focus on something other than "sliding toward my goals".  Still working on the specifics but a new blog is coming...

Ultreya...

What a great year for you! You've made big strides this year, changing up how you do things and seeing how it can work. I think adding in a coach can only help in that process, if only to give you new ideas, inspire better confidence and reinforce good habits.

Onward!