I'm a bad runner. I'm currently in a lull or more likely a low-point with running as of late. If my Garmin 405 is accurate, it means I only ran 11ish miles in January. Yes, 11 miles total.
That's bad! Really, really, really bad. And February hasn't been any better!
It's kind of normal because I suck at running in the cold and it's nice to take some time off every once in a while, but it really stinks trying to get back into quasi-shape once the thermometer jumps over 45 degrees. Even though the Baltimore area just got more snow that darn St. Patty's day 5k is quickly approaching and I need to start running again.
Today is the first day for open registration for the Marine Corps Marathon, which is bittersweet for me because I won't be running it this year. Instead, I have a different October marathon on my calendar :)
Today is also just around 100 days until my first half-marathon of the year. Yes, I'm hoping to do more than one this year. The first half is going to be an old school college road trip of hopefully epic proportions, but I'm hoping to have a somewhat decent time. That darn time is goal is what is prompting me to publicly do the following!
Here they are, my "goals" or "to-do" list for the 2011 running season:
1. Track all runs. This one is kind of a no-brainer, but it'll still be good for me to see how much I actually run a year. At this point I really have no idea. Next year I'd like to say, "I want to run XXX number of miles this year" and actually have that be a challenge. Oh, the Garmin will be handling this responsibility and since I can hardly tie my shoes without my watch, I'm fairly confident I'll meet this objective.
2. Break 8:00 minute miles for a race. This will most likely have to occur in a 5k, but maybe I can squeak this one out to a 10k. A 10-miler or half-marathon would be amazing, but I'm not trying to kill myself in the first year of, "I know I can run the distance, so now it's time to get faster."
3. Run Topless. Got your attention on that one, didn't I? Not fully topless, but rather go on more than one run wearing just a sports bra on top. This is all about self-esteem, plain and simple. I'm scared to run in my sports bra because I'm convinced I, "don't have the body for it." Yes, I'm an intelligent woman with serious body issues, except my body issues aren't really body issues, they're more of "skin" issues.
How do I put this delicately? I'm white. I don't mean Caucasian, I mean, whiter than the blank white space on your computer browser. So white that my ex-boyfriend called me, "Casper." I'm that person you stand next to in a photo when you want to look tanner. I'm so white that whenever I would run around and my shirt would fly up people would shout, "my eyes! my eyes! I'm blind!"
And no, I'm not kidding on any of those... all true stories. Last year I managed to run 1 race in a sports tank top and I had to be talked into it by my bestie. She may or may not have said something like, "look skinny bitch, if you don't run in that I'm never speaking to you again." She knows me all so well :)
4. Get the Hubs to run a sub 28-minute 5k. This is going to be the most difficult of my goals because I can't make him run faster! Well, I do, but he doesn't like it. Apparently, the hubs has never run a 5k before. I mean "run" under the definition of "running the entire distance." He's always had to walk at some point. Granted, he's never actually trained for a 5k, but it still bugs me that he hasn't run the entire distance. We do 6 mile runs all the time. Why can't he finish a simple 5k? I figure based on our normal runs, a 28 minute 5k will ensure that he's running the entire time. *
5. Run a sub-4:10 marathon. I want to run a sub 4-hour marathon, but Baltimore is known for its hills, so I figure I better give myself a bit of a cushion. However, it's on like Donkey Kong.
Last year I came out of my comfort zone, literally and figuratively, and now this year I need to step it up a notch. Last year was all about the distance, whereas this year I want to start to focus on the times. I'll never be a competitive runner or probably qualify for the Boston Marathon. However, I want to constantly challenge myself and that's good enough for me.
*stopping to get water during the race doesn't count as "not running." Yeah, this is my dictionary, I get to come up with my own definitions.
