Somewhere between mid-January and early February I decided I wanted to do a half marathon in March. I had been intentionally maintaining long runs in the 6-8 mile range knowing that I hoped to run 13.1 in March. But I hadn’t settled on a race and hadn’t settled on a training plan. Finally, via Facebook I learned about the March 16 Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon in Washington, D.C. and promptly signed up. At the time I think I had something like 5-6 weeks left to train.

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I set out for a 9 mile run but had a hunch it might be a little longer than nine. It turned out I was right and there really couldn’t have been a better run to go an extra 1.5 miles. It was one of the best long runs I can remember. Continue reading →

Weekends tend to be dedicated to the long run and the long run typically equals quality thinking time. Recently on a long run I found myself thinking about some family and friends whose new year started off rough. And then I thought about other friends and family whose new year began with joy and fresh starts. My mind kept switching from one extreme to the other and I found myself wanting to dedicate that run to my friends and family. Continue reading →

When I wrote my 2012 year in review I had all sorts of momentum and really enjoyed reminiscing on 2012 and thinking about what this year would bring. At the time, all I really knew is that I’d love to log 1,000 miles this year. But, within the first few weeks of the new year I found myself floundering with running. I had no goal, no training plan, no next race within reach. In addition, the year started out fast and furious with work and I struggled to keep a balanced running plan. And so finally, I put my mind to it and decided on a plan.

In February

I will be training for a March half marathon and look to do local 5ks to get the competitive juices flowing. My goal though is to make sure I have a very steady base pace and train for endurance rather than speed.

In March

I will do a half marathon. Quite possibly one in Florida with a girlfriend who will be running her first half. More likely it will be local and highly likely it will be the B&A Marathon which is essentially in my backyard. I would also by this time like to have a chariot of sorts connected to my bike so that I can start to ride outside again towing my son.

In April

I will do the Cooper River Bridge Run–best 10k ever–in Charleston, SC. Lots of biking and maybe start getting to the local indoor pool again.

In May

May is still a little foggy. I really, really would like to do the Broad Street 10-miler but knowing how fast registration fills up it may or may not become a reality. A colleague invited me to do the New England Ragner Relay which is very, very tempting but it happens to be on the same weekend as the Broad Street run. If neither of those work out, there is a half marathon in St. Michael’s, MD that is a relatively new race and rather appealing. There is also a great 10-miler in Chestertown over Memorial Day weekend.

In June

I hope to be biking and swimming a lot by this point and sticking with mid-mileage runs. There is a Father’s Day 10k I’ve always wanted to do in Annapolis so I think I’ll target that.

In July

This month will be dedicated to cross-training, strength and stretching.

In August

The Annapolis 10-miler of course!!

And that’s as far as I’ve made it. It feels good to have goals.