2012 Goals and Plans

My goals for 2012 are:

1. Stay healthy
2. Train consistently
3. Finish MCM, secondary goal of marathon PR (<6:45)
4. HM PR (<2:28)
5. 10K PR (<55 minutes)
6. Pass the USAF Fitness Test

The last is related to the Marine Corps Marathon in that I need to pass it to stay active as a drilling Reservist. I'll be using that status to get a discount on the race and lodging.

I've never done a proper base training cycle before, so 2012 will be a Base year. The basic plan is to stay with base training for most of the year adjusted to allow a mileage peak and taper before the USAF Marathon in September and follow Hal Higdon's multiple marathon plan to lead into the MCM at the end of October (and again to lead into the Route 66 in Tulsa in November! )

Initially, I plan to start with a Lydiard style base running as many days of the week as my schedule will allow. I will start with 30 minutes each day and build up to the following:

	Monday	1 hour
	Tuesday	1.5 hours
	Wednesday	1 hour
	Thursday	1.5-2 hours
	Friday	1 hour
	Saturday	>2 hours
	Sunday	1-1.5 hours

The pace for all of these will be aerobic (practically, the pace the allows for even splits for the entire distance).

I am prepared to adjust based on how the runs feel and how my recovery works.


Races currently planned:

	Canyonlands Half Marathon	March 17	Moab, UT
	Bolder Boulder 10K	May 28	Boulder, CO
	USAF Marathon	September 15	Dayton, OH
	Marine Corps Marathon	October 28	Arlington, VA
	Route 66 Marathon	November 18	Tulsa, OK

Related to the USAF Fitness Test, I need to be able to complete 21 push-ups and 34 sit-ups in separate sessions of one minute each. I've consistently been able to meet the requirement on the push-ups, but the sit-ups requirement is the thing that is keeping me from passing the assessment.

My plan here is to do 5 sets of 20 (or as many as I can do) of push-ups and then of sit-ups every other day. This may be stretched to every third day if I do not recover well enough. The number will be adjusted based on how well I do each month on my drill weekend.

Finally, I've allowed myself to gain back most of the weight I lost the last time I was successful in losing weight. I will be starting at 180 pounds and will be looking to lose about 1 pound a week for most of the year. I expect I will find a good level after about 30 pounds, but we will see once we get there.

I think I can do most of this by making mostly minor changes. I will stay stable after the end of July until after the Route 66 Marathon. I hope to not gain too much during the 2012 Holiday season and plan to knock any remaining extra pounds off in early 2013.


This makes for an ambitious plan, but if you don't aim high, you will never get off the ground.

Dexter - Ann Arbor Run

Duration = 2:28:48 (Official Chip Time)
Distance = 13.11 (Half Marathon)
Calories = 1602
Max HR = 191
Avg HR = 165
Running Index = 45
Max Cadence = 100
Avg Cadence = 93

Equipment: Asics Gel-Cumulus 9s, shorts, tech shirt

This was the race I'd hoped to be training for following the Bataan Memorial Death March. Due to time constraints, this race requires runners to maintain 13:00/mile pace for most of the course. I was concerned about maintaining this pace as I was just getting back to training. I used the Bolder Boulder on Monday as a level-set to determine my ability to maintain a pace faster than 13:00/mile. My goal for Bolder Boulder was better than 12:00/mile. This I was able to do with room to spare. I started the Dexter - Ann Arbor Run Half Marathon knowing that I had the speed to maintain 13:00/mile or better. What I didn't know was whether I had the endurance.

My goals for the race were A: to finish (beating the 13:00/mile cut-off), B: PR (beat 2:32:52), and C: beat 2:30:00 (which means I qualify for the Pikes Peak Ascent). This race also completes Week 3 in my USAF Marathon training.

This is a point-to-point race. I parked near the finish and caught one of the first buses to the start. We had access to the school building at the start and there was a large bank of porta-potties in the parking lot. There were low clouds with very few breaks before the start. The previous night had had severe weather including torrential rain and even tornadoes in the region. The start was delayed by half an hour due to a tree across the course.

I started very near the back of the pack. At one point I may have had five runners behind me and I could hear the vehicles that were following the last runners. The course makes a small loop from the school into the town of Dexter before crossing the Huron River just past downtown. There was a band playing in town. On the bridge over the river you could see the size and rate of the river flow. We would follow the river for most of the course. The road is described as rolling, but some of the hills have a noticeable grade. Most of the course is tree-covered, but that was less of an issue as the clouds blocked the sun most of the time. There was even once that there was a slight drizzle, almost a mist. If I had been running harder, I might have found it muggy and humid. In spots, you could see where water had run over the road earlier. There were a couple places that still had a film of water and some mud. I forget where it was, but we did see the remains of the tree that had fallen on the road.

Spectators were sparse, but quite energetic. There was one woman I know I saw three times. There were aid stations every two miles with water; some also had Gatorade. There were musicians at spots along the way and some of the police had the radio up in their vehicles. The final segment is uphill and the finish is on Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor. The Taste of Ann Arbor festival starts just beyond the finish area. You are handed your medal (and a nice medal it is), your water, and have the opportunity for a photo. There is pizza, bread, and oranges available next.

I'm very happy with how this race went. I knew I had the finish in hand unless the wheels came off. About 5 miles out, I figured I had a good shot at the 2:30 finish. I set my target for the final miles to hit mile 13 before 2:30 on the clock as I knew I had taken about two minute to get to the starting line. When I hit the last full mile, I knew I had the 2:30 with room to spare. I felt great during the entire race. Early in the race I was very conservative, but I noted that I was running a heart rate well under what I had done for the USAF Half last September. I started paying attention to the grade and would short and quicken my stride on the ups and increase my pace on the downs. This worked real well and I will have to keep an eye on that for other races. Since the race, I seem to be recovering better than I did in the fall.

This is the last serious race until the USAF in September. I am mostly following Hal Higdon's Novice I program. My shorter races tell me I have the speed for a 4 hour marathon, but I need to develop the endurance. Based on my performance here, I will set a target of 5 hours for the USAF. This is mainly a baseline to guide my training. My A-goal for the USAF is to be their 7 hour cut-off. Everything so far supports this as already achievable. These will firm up as we get closer, but I'm currently thinking about targeting 12:00/pace as sustainable and a stretch goal to beat 5 hours.

Finally, this race achieves one of my goals set at the beginning of the year and that was to set a new PR (Personal Record) in the half marathon.


The Half Marathon Finisher's Medal

Data:

Lap    Time    Lap Time Max Avg Min Dist  min/mile 
1.  0:11:38.7 0:11:38.7 159 142 117 0.989  11:46 
2.  0:23:21.3 0:11:42.6 158 152 142 0.994  11:46 
3.  0:34:48.9 0:11:27.6 170 162 153 1.013  11:19 
4.  0:46:09.9 0:11:21.0 171 163 156 0.997  11:23 
5.  0:57:14.0 0:11:04.1 176 167 160 1.006  11:00 
6.  1:08:28.3 0:11:14.3 172 166 157 0.998  11:15 
7.  1:19:40.0 0:11:11.7 169 165 160 0.990  11:18 
8.  1:30:50.5 0:11:10.5 180 168 157 0.995  11:13 
9.  1:41:48.0 0:10:57.5 176 171 165 1.008  10:52 
10. 1:52:32.8 0:10:44.8 177 174 168 0.997  10:46 
11. 2:03:36.0 0:11:03.2 176 173 164 1.001  11:02 
12. 2:15:10.0 0:11:34.0 183 174 162 1.005  11:30 
13. 2:28:54.2 0:13:44.2 191 175 162 1.187  11:34
   (last mile through the finish)

A New Year and a New Start

I've allowed this to fall fallow and my training has suffered as well. With the new year, I will make a renewed effort to keep this up and to train consistently.

Finishing up 2009:

• I do walk occasionally at work. I will likely do more of this in the new year, but I will also likely not report it with its own entry.
• On the 15th of December, I started seriously training again. I am now in my third week of this.
• With my final weigh-in, I am 6 pounds lighter than at the start of 2009.

Goals for 2010:

Not So Crazy Goals

• Stay healthy (without this, nothing else matters)
• Lose 15 lbs (155 lbs)
• Finish 1st Marathon
  (Completed, 2010 Mar 21, 11:58:38)
• PR 5K (27:39)
• PR 10K (55:25)
• PR Half (2:32:52)
  (Completed, 2010 Jun 6, 2:28:48)

Crazy Goals

• Lose 25 lbs (145 lbs)
  
• Sub 4-hour Marathon
• Sub 2-hour Half
• Sub 50-minute 10K
• Sub 25-minute 5K

Really Crazy Goals [I don't expect to get these in 2010, but they are out there for direction]

• Qualify for the Boston Marathon (sub 3-1/2 hour marathon)
• Sub 40-minute 10K
• Sub 20-minute 5K

Races currently in the plan:

• Reese Winter Race Series 10K (Jan)
• Reese Winter Race Series 10K (Mar)
• Bataan Memorial Death March (Mar)
• Trail Half Marathon (Apr)
• Bolder Boulder 10K (May)
• Dexter to Ann Arbor Run Half Marathon (Jun)
• City to Surf Half Marathon (Aug)
• USAF Marathon (Sep)

I am currently using low HR, slow speed, training. My next major event is the Bataan Memorial Death March where I am entered as Military Heavy. This works out to a full marathon in military utility uniform, complete with combat boots, and wearing a 50-pound pack, 35-pounds of payload plus water and the pack itself. As I plan to march, not run, this event, the slow pace of the current training is quite event specific.

Today is a rest day and I run a 10K tomorrow morning.

That's it for now.

[Edited 2010-03-28 to add tags, add goal weights, and note marathon completion]
[Edited 2010-06-08 to note half marathon PR]

The Long, Hard Road

Duration = 50:11
Distance = 3.62
Calories = 432
Max HR = 155
Avg HR = 145
Running Index = 42
Max Cadence = 105
Avg Cadence = 90

[There have been a few sessions since the last entry, but I'm going to look forward rather then go back and get them.]

This is the start of my training for my next Goal Race, the 2010 USAF Marathon in September. One thing I've learned about myself is that I need a goal to focus my attention. I have a couple other significant events next year: the Bataan Memorial Death March in March and the Trail Half Marathon in April. I will also run a series of 10Ks over the winter and am looking to have about a race a month until September. As the USAF Marathon will be my first race at marathon distance, my goal is to finish, but I would like to finish well.

The Bataan Memorial Death March in White Sands, NM is my intermediate goal. It is marathon length, but I don't plan to race it. I will be participating in the Military Heavy division. This means, for me, my US Air Force utility uniform with approved combat boots and a backpack with at least 35 pounds of payload. My plan is to finish and I have all day (about 13 hours) to do it. As the name suggests, this is in memory of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines during WWII. We still have a few survivors of that event who are on hand for the start of this commemorative event. It is honoring my military heritage that is my primary intent for this event. Also, the 35 pounds will represent the weight I will have lost over a year and a half of training. Because I expect to do this event at a significantly slower pace than any of my other races, I will do all my training leading to it as long, slow, distance (LSD) runs. This will be a long base-building cycle patterned after some of the writing of John Hadd. It also takes a page from Matt Fitzgerald's Brain Training. Basically, I will be training at, or near, the pace I hope to hold for the March.

In April, I plan to run the Trail Half Marathon that I missed in 2009 because of my deployment. We'll see where we are at after recovering from the March and extend the training to the end of April. The last race before I start the specific training for the USAF Marathon will be the Bolder Boulder 10K on Memorial Day. I will likely using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program as the basis of my marathon training.

The goal for this week is to set a baseline to start the base training. The current plan is for 45 and 60 minute runs at about a heart rate of 150. Today, I started at 4.0 mph (15:00) for the first 5 minutes and then increased by .1 each minute until I reached 4.5 as this got me into the 145-155 range I had as my target. I then ran the rest of the 45 minute session at 4.5. At 45:00, I dropped to 4 and then dropped .5 each minute to 2.0 and finished after 1 minute at 2.0 with a final heart rate of 126.

Hiatus

I'm putting the strength training on hiatus. I'm not progress at all. In fact, I appear to be regressing. I'm not sure if it is simply muscle fatigue, or if there are minor issues in my joints that are being adversely affected by the training. It is possible that the running (which is improving) and the weight loss are also impacting on the strength training. I will work on both the sit-ups and push-ups in the future as these are related to my long-term fitness goals, but I think a compete break now is in order. This will also simplify other things I have in progress and upcoming.

Fitness Goals for 2009

These expand and complement the goals enumerated in my 15 December Goals Update.

• Run a 5K (Done 1 February 2009, Super 5K, Novi, MI, 40:40.56)
• Run a 10K (Done 11 April 2009, Tax Trot Long Form (10K), Flushing, MI, 1:05:05)
• Max the USAF Fit-to-Fight Assessment for the Run, Push-ups (repeat), and Crunches.
• Achieve my target Body Composition of around 20% Body Fat.
• Maintain stable weight once above target achieved.

Plan for accomplishment:

• Continue with Base Building plan while losing weight.
• Do regular strength exercises to improve push-ups and crunches
• Do additional strength exerices/cross training to balance muscle groups
• Pay attention to my diet
• Once weight goal is met, target a race and follow a specific plan to maximize performance in that race.

[Edited 2009-02-01 to note 5K completion]
[Edited 2009-04-11 to note 10K completion]

Goals update and current plan

Now that I've passed the USAF Fitness Assessment, I can review my fitness goals. My first goals post is a good starting point (and changes are marked relative to that post). I want to give myself some breathing room on the assessment, so I'm adding the following goals: Run 1.5 miles in 12:00 (this will give me three more points) and complete 30 crunches in 1 minute (improving my current weakest segment). I've replaced the 1.5 miles in 10:30 short term goal with the two long term goals of maxing out the run.

Short Term Goals

• Run 1.5 miles in 10:30 (7:00/mile)
• Run 1.5 miles in 12:00 (8:00/mile)
• Complete a 5K run (Done, 1 FEB 2009)
  
• Complete a 10K run (Done, 11 APR 2009)
• Complete 30 crunches in 1 minute
• Body fat percentage < 25%

Long Term Goals

• 6 miles in 42:00 (43:24 for a 10K; 7:00/mile)
• Max the 1.5 mile run for my age group, currently 10:24
• Max the 1.5 mile run for any male, 9:36
• Body fat percentage < 20%
• Complete a marathon

Current Plan

Over the next four months, I will be completing the Red Intermediate Plan from Daniels' Running Formula (2nd Ed.). I will continue to run 6 days a week and include 5K to 10K races as opportunities allow. I will workout with sets of push-ups and crunches on three "easy" days during the week. I will also continue my diet which should achieve my current target (155 lbs.) at the end of April 2009.

[Edited 2009-02-01 to noted 5K completed]

[Edited 2009-04-11 to noted 10K completed]

Fit-to-Fight, November 2008

The Fit-to-Fight assessment was Sunday afternoon. The conditions were bad, but at least the rain and snow held off. Temperature was around 36F, with a stiff breeze into your face on the outbound leg of the run.

There are four parts to the assessment: waist measurement, crunches, push-ups, and the run. The run is worth half of the points in the assessment. You need 75% to pass. The assessment is accomplished in the same order as the above list. I didn't do as well on the crunches (20) as I had planned, but I was able to make up for that by doing better than I had planned on the push-ups (26). Going into the run, I knew I needed a time of 13:12 to pass. While I didn't make that mark, the time of 16:27 for the 1.5-mile run was the best I have done since we started the new assessment process. I was able to run the whole distance at a steady pace for the first time.

Passing this assessment is an even shorter term goal than any of those mentioned at the beginning of this blog. To meet this immediate goal, I need to find another 11.5 points during the assessment. I hope the waist will respond to the other efforts I'm making, but I'm not going to plan on it in the short term. If I can get two more crunches, I get another point, leaving 10.5 to go. This would require a time of 13:36 or better.

Gap analysis time. I need two more crunches. The current assessment rate is ~11:00/miles. The target rate is ~9:00/mile. The gap here is 2:00/mile. I should be able to make most of this up by improving my stride as it was rather short for this run. I did open it out near the end and was able to maintain that and ultimately ended with a sprint to the finish (3 seconds would have garnered 3 more points).

Going forward, I plan to spend some time on push-up, crunches, and intervals to develop a good stride. I will have to see if I can find a sensor that will actually measure the stride along with the rate so I can measure my progress.

[posted 2015, 10 November 2008]

Goals

I've started running. This will be a log of my progress in this endeavor.

When starting a journey, one should have some purpose or destination in mind. Sometimes, the journey itself is why one is travelling. Even then, some guiding principle exists. Sometimes, their are intermediate goals that govern part of the journey. With these thoughts in mind, I shall consider my current goals for this running program.

Physical fitness is good to have for sustained health. I've picked running as part of my fitness program because it is a specific capability that I am tested on annually as a member of the US Air Force Reserve. This is also the source of the first short term goal. For my age group, I need to beat 10:24 for the mile-and-a-half run to get the maximum points. I also need to reduce my waist size to less than 32.5 inches and running is part of the plan for that as well.

When I graduated high school, I weighed 148 lbs and could run 6 miles in 42 minutes wearing combat boots. Over the summer, I was involved in a vigorous training program and was healthy at 131 lbs. I'd like to see if I can get back to that level of fitness. I know I'm not 18 anymore, but I won't be running boots either. I figure 7:00/mile for an extended run (like a 10K) is a reasonable long term goal. If I get to a point where I'm healthy and still unable to increase my speed to that level without risking injury, I can let this go.

While not a running goal, I would like to get my percentage body fat down to a more healthy level. Greater than 25% (where I am now) is considered to be unhealthful. Just on the low side of 20% seems to be the suggested target for adult males. I have a scale which gives me a fairly repeatable (if of unknown accuracy) number that I will track. I carry my extra weight at my waist, so my waist measurement will give another metric for tracking progress.

I've always talked about running a marathon. I even was signed-up for the New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon one year, but got sick just before the race. My little sister has completed at least one marathon and at least one half marathon. I don't know her time, and I'm not going to worry about it until after I've completed at least one marathon myself. (And maybe not even then.)

Short Term Goals

• Run 1.5 miles in 10:30 (7:00/mile)
  
• Complete a 5K run
• Complete a 10K run
• Body fat percentage &lt; 25%

Long Term Goals

• 6 miles in 42:00 (43:24 for a 10K; 7:00/mile)
  
• Body fat percentage &lt; 20%
• Complete a marathon

That's enough for now. For those who know me, there is a very short term goal. That is to actually stick with the plan. Watch this space.

Superseded by update on 15 December 2008.

[Edited 1400, 28 December 2008 to add link to update]