I started this year with a couple of goals:
5K: 16:30
8K: 28:00
10-miler: 59:00
half marathon: 1:19:00
My PRs in those events were as follows:
5K: 17:24
8K: 28:54
10-miler: 1:02:14
half marathon: 1:21:35
I split my year into 2 seasons. One ending in mid-June, followed by a break to go to Europe and engage in lots of activities detrimental to one's health and fitness
and then another season to start when I got back and end today with the Buffalo Turkey Trot. I averaged 65-70 miles a week for the first season. After that, I had lowered my 5K to 16:54 and my half marathon time to 1:19:05.
I then took a 3-week break, and resumed training with a vengeance. In October, I had 3 weeks over 80 miles a week, and 2 solid months at over 70. I upped the amount of interval work I did from 3 miles per session to 5, and did more short, fast repeats as well as more long intervals. In my first race, a 10-miler, I ran 58:50, a 3.5 minute PR. The next week I ran 16:42, to drop my best by 12 seconds. Then, in my last 5K, I ran alone from the gun into a brutal wind to finish in 16:40. So, no 16:30 to me but I dropped my PR 14 seconds and proved I was able to run consistently in the 16:40s.
Today was my last race of the year; the Buffalo Turkey Trot 8K. I knew from my 16:40 that 27:30 was attainable, but I was still primarily shooting for 28. I ended up running consistent 5:33s for a finishing time of 27:32, a 1:22 PR and obliterating my goal for the year.
So, what have I learned from this year?
A) Consistency in training reigns above all else- even consistent average training will yield impressive results over time
B) High mileage is key to improving in distance running
C) 16:30 is damn fast and hard to run!!!
D) Consistency is king!!
Now its time to recover for a few weeks, and then next year, to run a 2:45 marathon. Thanks for reading, hope this shed some light or at least entertained you for a moment or two!
5K: 16:30
8K: 28:00
10-miler: 59:00
half marathon: 1:19:00
My PRs in those events were as follows:
5K: 17:24
8K: 28:54
10-miler: 1:02:14
half marathon: 1:21:35
I split my year into 2 seasons. One ending in mid-June, followed by a break to go to Europe and engage in lots of activities detrimental to one's health and fitness
and then another season to start when I got back and end today with the Buffalo Turkey Trot. I averaged 65-70 miles a week for the first season. After that, I had lowered my 5K to 16:54 and my half marathon time to 1:19:05.I then took a 3-week break, and resumed training with a vengeance. In October, I had 3 weeks over 80 miles a week, and 2 solid months at over 70. I upped the amount of interval work I did from 3 miles per session to 5, and did more short, fast repeats as well as more long intervals. In my first race, a 10-miler, I ran 58:50, a 3.5 minute PR. The next week I ran 16:42, to drop my best by 12 seconds. Then, in my last 5K, I ran alone from the gun into a brutal wind to finish in 16:40. So, no 16:30 to me but I dropped my PR 14 seconds and proved I was able to run consistently in the 16:40s.
Today was my last race of the year; the Buffalo Turkey Trot 8K. I knew from my 16:40 that 27:30 was attainable, but I was still primarily shooting for 28. I ended up running consistent 5:33s for a finishing time of 27:32, a 1:22 PR and obliterating my goal for the year.
So, what have I learned from this year?
A) Consistency in training reigns above all else- even consistent average training will yield impressive results over time
B) High mileage is key to improving in distance running
C) 16:30 is damn fast and hard to run!!!
D) Consistency is king!!
Now its time to recover for a few weeks, and then next year, to run a 2:45 marathon. Thanks for reading, hope this shed some light or at least entertained you for a moment or two!
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