2011 Race Calendar

My running partner and I have been trying to decide what 2011 will look like for our running careers. Neither one of us wanted to make any decisions since Richmond. Well, I received the following email from her this week:

"Wishy Washy Running Partner sees four possible spring scenarios - pick one and I will commit.

'We are a hot mess.' - Run Colonial 1/2, Outer Banks Pirate 1/2, Wine Country 1/2 (this is one every other month beginning Feb), ... Marine Corps a given.

'Karen avoiding running in cold for one more month.' -Shamrock 8k, Outer Banks Pirate 1/2, Wine Country 1/2, begin marathon training.

'Same old, same old.' - Shamrock 1/2, add Wine Country 1/2 prior to beginning marathon training.

'Hills, Hills, Hills.' - Colonial 1/2, Shamrock 8k, Wine Country 1/2...[Marine Corps]..."

So, I have spent the week considering my options, performing cost analysis, and deciding what our best plan of action would be. I was drawn to the first plan, but after reviewing the costs for the races and the hotel needs for each I made a proposition. Let's swap OBX with Shamrock. This puts us running 2 local races (no accomodations needed) and 2 travel races. Sure, we have run Shamrock about a MILLION TIMES but it is a good race. AND you get a free hat. I like the hat.

Karen agreed and registration has begun. We are officially "a hot mess."

Tonight I got an email from Coach to determine my goals for 2011. I must admit, this last year of training has shown me that I truly can improve and accomplish goals I never thought possible.

To keep myself accountable, here are the announced goals for 2011:

Colonial Half (Feb): Finish and enjoy the scenery. Running has been minimal for the Holiday season, so I'm not going to kill myself in 2 months of training.
Shamrock Half (March): Finish in 2:05. This will be 6 minutes faster than Richmond averaging 46 seconds faster each mile.
Wine Country Half (June): Finish in 2:00
Marine Corps Marathon (October): Less walk breaks than Shamrock 2010 and finish under 4:50. That shaves 9 minutes off my other marathon time. However, I have been told that runners typically shave about 20 minutes off marathon time for the second attempt.
5k Goal: Finish in 27 minutes. That only shaves 37 seconds from my current PR.
8K Goal: Finish under 47 minutes. That shaves about 1:20 from my current PR.
Other: I would like to make 9:40 the new "slow".

Stay tuned in 2011 to see how I perform with an increased "big" race schedule (4 instead of my typical 2 in a year) and high mileage weeks. As crazy as this sounds, I'm pretty pumped about it!