So, the NYC marathon has come and gone. Now that I am over a month out from race day, I can look back on the race fondly, and am even coming around to the idea of doing it again in the future (spoiler alert: there is no doubt in my mind that I need to run it again). It was a hard race, but I feel so blessed that I was able to be a part of it, and got to run through the streets of NYC with over 50,000 other runners.
Perhaps you have noticed that I have not been posting weekly training updates since the race – Well, good news is whether you missed them or not, they will be coming back on 12/24! I have still been active despite the lack of updates, I just have not been following any sort of training schedule. My fitness over the last month has been a modge podge of running, swimming, yoga, and orange theory fitness classes. Plus, a few little races on the weekends, but always for fun with friends and family.
This time around, my goal is different. As I trained for NY, I focused on finish the race feeling a certain way – strong. Not something one can really classify with empirical data. This time around, I am focusing on shorter distances, and picking up the pace. Before we go into specifics, let me tell you about some of my race PRs:
- 10k – 51:08
This PR came at a New York Road Runners event – The UAE Healthy Kidney 10k. I ran this race in April of 2017, with no intention of setting a new PR. It just was a very good day for running, where every mile felt strong. When I realized a PR was attainable, I pushed the pace and was rewarded for doing so.
2. Half Marathon (13.1 miles) – 1:58:33
My half PR was set at the 2017 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon in March, which I ran with my friend Tara -We had a great time running together! But if you want to get technical my fastest half time was actually during the Long Island Marathon in May, which I ran in 1:56:59. The last time I really pushed myself to race a half was in October of 2016, at the rock ‘n’ roll Brooklyn half – so its been a while since I really raced this distance.
I haven’t really focused on shorter distances since I ran my first marathon in January of 2017, and this year really turned out to really be “The Year of the Marathon” for me, since I ran a total of three! For 2018, I hope to run at least one marathon, but plan to shift my focus to picking up the speed and race shorter races, and hope that it translates to a faster marathon time when I feel ready to commit to that distance again.
So, these weekly updates will be leading up to the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend, where I will attempt to set a new 10k PR! I will also be running the half the day after the 10k, but want to focus on the 10k as my goal race for that weekend. The 10k will take place on February 24, 2018 and my goal is, dare I say it, to run it in
Less than 50 minutes!
This goal feels ambitious, but attainable. Knowing that it is close to my current PR, I feel that if I focus my workouts over the next two and a half months, with some longer weekend runs to make sure I’m prepared for the half as well, I will be able to improve my pace.
Another goal for 2018? Run 12 Half marathons in 12 months! But, more on that later….