New Year? Get some goals!

Well, yeah.  I guess it’s that time of the (New) year again.  Normally I'm not big on making New Year’s resolutions.  And it’s not because I think I’m perfect just the way I am.  I’m not THAT guy.  Sometimes I wish I were, but that’s a whole other story.  Since I’ve been running (somewhat) seriously for better than a year now, I think that it would be good for me to set some running goals for the coming year.  I got 4 half marathons in last year, which I feel good about.  One of them was even a trail half, which was cool. 

Soooooooo, in no particular order (because that’s how I roll), here are my goals for the this running year:

1.  Run two full marathons: I’m planning on one in the spring, and one in the fall.  I’ve actually already signed up for the first one – the Med City Marathon in Rochester, MN on Memorial Day weekend.  It’s a small-ish race, and form all of the reviews that I’ve read, it seems like a fun, easy-going weekend.  Plus, they have a kids’ marathon, in which the kids run 25 miles in the months leading up to the weekend, and then run the final 1.2 miles on the Saturday.  Both of my kids are up for it, so it’ll be a fun weekend all around.  Plus, we found a little waterpark hotel in Rochester for us to stay in.  The second full marathon that I’m aiming for the venerable Twin Cities Marathon, which runs literally 2 blocks from my house. (Well, not for the whole 26.2 miles.  That would mean something like 645 laps of my block, which would be sort of boring.  Although it makes me think of this story that I read once…)
2. Run 1200 miles:  I’m also setting out a mileage goal for the year, which I haven’t done before.  I’m gong to shoot for 1200 miles this year, which, if the calculator ion my hope is working (and I have every reason to believe that it is), means I’ll need to average 23 miles a week.  Seems doable, especially if I’m going to train for two marathons.  Plus, the upside is that I will handily beat The Proclaimers.  The best they could do is to walk 1,000 miles.
3. Run a 5K with each/both of my kids: Boy is 12 and Girl is 8.  Each of them, with a bit of training, could easily run/walk and very likely run 5K.   We’ll pick races based on the swag, of course.
4. No injuries: Well, this kind of goes without saying.  I’ll take a bit of luck to go along with a sensible running plan, added to a day a week of cross/strength training (WHAT?!?!?!?!?) to get this one.  I hope.

That’s it, kids.  What do you have cooking for goals, running or otherwise?

Back in the Saddle

After what I see to be a sizeable hiatus, I’m getting back to the blog.  It was a heck of a summer, in many ways.  As a teacher, I obviously have my summers off, and free to spend with my family.  My wife works in the schools as well, so all four of us (the two of us and the kidlings) were home all together.  We got in a nice trip to Colorado, and some other fun family time. 

The downer of the summer, and mainly the reason why the blog went silent is that my dad got sick and passed away at the end of the summer and early fall.  That event, obviously, took a toll on me, and occupied much of my time and energy – physically, emotionally, spiritually, and otherwise.

That said, I’m getting back in the game.  Since my last post, I have run four half marathons!  Not too shabby for a runner who, a year and a half ago, ran his first 5K and had to take a walk break.  (And look at me, referring to myself in the third person.  Who am I – Bo Jackson?  Jimmy from Seinfeld?  Elmo?) 

In the past months, I have done the Minneapolis HalfMarathon, the Urban Wildland Half Marathon in Richfield, MN, the Surly TrailLoppet Half, and the Monster Dash Half.  I also did a funky little race in Minneapolis called the Tri-Loppet (it’s a triathlon, but with paddling, running, and biking – perfect for those of us who HATE swimming).

I’ve written race reports for some of those races – I’ve tried to write over the past several months, but they pretty much came off half-assed and, to be honest, not very well written.  I’m going to try to pencil-whip them back into some semblance of shape/coherence and get them on the blog.  

I also am working on some shoe reviews, gear reviews, and book reviews.  I just ordered a pair of the new Skechers Go Run3s, which I’m super excited about, and I just picked up a pair of Merrell Bare Access 2s from 6pm.com for $40.  Not sure if I’ll write up a review on those – pretty late to the party, since the BA3s are already out. 

Finally, immediate goal for the blog will be to chronicle my road to my first marathon.  I’m on the verge of signing up for the Med City Marathon in Rochester, MN.  It’s on May 25^th (Memorial Day Weekend) and from all the reviews I’ve read, it sounds like a really nice race.  I’m hoping to use this space to keep myself honest and accountable as I train, fret, get excited, get tired, get sore, and get excited again about the training process (at least as accountable as a blog with zero current readership is – at the bare minimum I feel like I’m putting it out there in front of God and everybody, for some sort of scrutiny).

I’ll be posting on a hopefully regular basis from here on out, and especially starting on Monday, as I officially start the marathon training.