Thursday, October 4, 2012

Race Goals

So I was going to be a big ol' chicken and not post my race goals...but I realized in the the past, putting it out there is what seems to push me so here I am.  How am I feeling about this training cycle?  I pushed hard at the clinics, harder than I ever would have dreamed I would have.  I am so thankful to have had such a great group to train with, and an even better instructor with Jason.  I've been working hard on my form after taking all the clinics with Marilyn, and I think if I can keep my form going throughout the race, I might be able hit my time goal as I won't be muscling myself along throughout the race...so important especially for the first half of the race.  I did all the long runs and made sure my pace was within range - not too fast, not too slow.  I've also been eating really well since about June and really kept an eye on making sure I got enough protein (thank you Arbonne protein powder...vegan, full of protein and delish to boot!).  Last year, I seemed to have lost a lot of muscle mass as I was doing no strength work and was pretty much just running.  This year, I kept up all the bootcamps as I wanted to make sure I kept up the cross training.  I think the combo of the extra protein and strength work has helped me maintain and even build muscle...I can see the difference, but more important is the lack of difference on the scale.  I weigh the same as I did in June when I was admittedly a lot fluffier than I like to be when I'm running, but my clothes are fitting much better.  Kinda excited about this result as it means I must have built muscle, and it gives me some food for thought about what I want to do in the off season as I'm really interested in doing more strength training.

OK, enough procrastinating and trying to baffle you guys with bullshit to distract you...ha!  Here are my goals for next week's half:

C goal (I know I can):  2:00

B goal (I think I can):  1:55

A goal (pinch me, I'm dreaming): 1:50

Truthfully I'm nervous about my A goal.  I've done the physical training, but it's the mental toughness part that I'm a little worried about...I always seem to fall apart at around 16K, so I'm thinking about my race plan.  Do I go for even splits?  Do I try for negative splits?   Do I try and build a cushion?  The physical part is hard but the mental part, for me, is always harder.

Let's do this!

3 comments:

Angie said...

Go Wong Go!!!!!
You can do it... I know you can!

Unknown said...

You sound just like me - how hard do I push and for what goal! You're going to do awesome. Someday I hope I can run under 2:00 for a half so you're a hero in my book whether you reach A, B or C goal! Keep your eye out for me on Sunday, I'll be there too!

Char said...

Before my best-ever half a friend told me that her best half was run with a really relaxed start. So that's what I did - took out the first k in around 6 mins and just got faster through the event. It was a big negative split and had me running faster than I thought I could. So my advice is to take it out easy and ramp it up.