Daydreaming During Work Meetings

With the completion of the 2010 America's Finest City Half Marathon, I've accomplished all of my running goals except one: an official sub-21 minute 5K.  I'd actually like to break 20 minutes, but back at the start of the year I just didn't think that was a realistic goal to achieve before my 50th birthday, so I set a more conservative goal of 21 minutes. The best I've recorded this year is 21:15, and that was hard.  I haven't challenged the goal lately, and I doubt I could even match that 21:15 time presently.  I need to do some speed work (and get my legs healthy first). 

Looking at the race calendar, the following 5K events are candidates for attempting to meet the goal:

1) Max Run 5K on 9/11 at Lake Miramar
2) Lap the Lakes 5K on 9/18 at Santee Lakes
3) Crimestoppers Light the Night 5K on 10/23 at Balboa Park
4) Race for the Cure 5K on 11/7 at Balboa Park
5) Silver Strand 5K on 11/14 at Imperial Beach

I'm planning on doing the Race for the Cure with Joan.  That's less a competitive race and more a family-oriented "fun run" apparently.  That doesn't mean I can't use that event to try to set a PR, but the course and environment might not be conducive for that objective.  I'm not sure, so I'll probably want to have a back up race in mind.

I'm not intending on running the Silver Strand half marathon, but there's a 5K scheduled as part of that whole scene, and that very well could be a perfect candidate.  The date is as late as I can get before turning 50 and the course is flat. I can run that and then hang around, enjoy the festivities, and then cheer on friends I know who will be running the half marathon.  I think I've just convinced myself that's a good option to get on the schedule.

I think I'll do that Max memorial run at Lake Miramar on September 11th too.  It's local.  It's for a good cause.  I know Miramar pretty well.  It's a little soon, but it could provide me with a good test of where I stand and how far from the time goal I am. 

With those stakes in the ground, it leaves space in the middle for the MCRD Boot Camp Challenge on 9/25 and the Coastwise 3x1 mile relay I want to do with Joan and Quin on 10/2.  I'll be in the first third of my marathon training during September/October, so it might be a challenge to work toward both objectives: faster 5K speed and, at the same time, the requisite long-slow distance buildup again. I'm going to have to be very conscious of not making errors in training and risking injury.  I expect to have the help of Mike and Clarence coaching me by then. 

Looking even further ahead, I'm settling in (for now) on a notional marathon schedule, which makes the assumption that I don't want to quit the marathon game after the Carlsbad race.

1) Carlsbad Marathon (Carlsbad in January 2011)

Then, about 7 months later...

2) Marine Corps Marathon (Washington DC in October 2011)

If I can get a BQ time in either of those, it'll be in time to register for...

3) Boston Marathon (Boston in April 2012)

There's only about 5 months between Marine Corps and Boston, which is kind of tight.  If I do do  Boston, it'd probably be my only 2012 marathon, because I'd like to shoot for a family vacation trip to...

4) Disney World Marathon (Orlando in January 2013)

I also have my eye on...

5) Big Sur Int'l Marathon (Monterey in May 2013)

That's kind of a tight squeeze if I do Disney World, but by then maybe I'll be accomplished at 26.2.  The Big Sur race is supposed to be spectacular and quite challenging. 

Then, for yucks, and assuming that I get picked in the lottery...

6) New York City Marathon (NYC in November 2013)

That's seems like a pretty good line-up of races over the next 3 years that are realistically spaced.  2013 might be a little compressed, squeezing in 3 marathons between February and November, but NYC is a pipedream anyway since I'd have to depend on the lottery for entry.  (Or I could apply, starting in 2011, and try to start racking up rejections to gain guaranteed entry.)

A lot of that hinges on what I do this coming year.  Carlsbad and Marine Corps give me two opportunities to qualify for Boston in 2012.  I'll need a 3:35 time.  I don't want to make that my goal for Carlsbad.  I got over eager in the RnR and burned out, not able to keep the goal pace I thought I had trained for.  All I want to set my sights on for January is finishing strong in 3:45, or at least under 4 hours.  If I wind up surprising myself by lopping off 10 extra minutes?  Great!  But I'll put my BQ hopes on a later marathon, like the DC Marine Corps race. 

I may not even want to do any more marathons after Carlsbad.  Maybe I'll turn my attention to triathlons.  Or...what about ultras?  Would that be too crazy?

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Back to today: it's going to be tough to slot in time for a workout.  I've got meetings all morning and then some personal stuff I need to take care of during lunch time. I'm still dependent on ridesharing since I don't have a vehicle yet and rode in with Gary this morning.  Normally, I'd save time for the late afternoon to get some sweating in, but I'm beholden to the schedule of others, unless I want to spend the night here...which I've done before.

If I do get a chance, my plan is to swim for 30 minutes and then go through 3 laps of my standard circuit, with elliptical, rowing and a treadmill jog for the cardio portions between sets.  Quin and I did NOT do the push ups and sit ups last night.  I should do the max tests today before I work out to gauge my status. 

Meeting's over.  Gotta go.