“Set goals and crush them”.
Goals continue to be a big part of my Walk into the Future. I sit down in January and write out my goals for the year. I break these goals up into categories so I can track my completion progress.
My weekly physical fitness goals include weight training (2 days), run (3 days) and speed work on Wednesdays. My overarching physical fitness goal is 1,000 training miles in 2021—this includes running and biking miles.
I set 1,000 training miles as a goal to push my training to a new level. This mile marker also helps my motivation since there are not as many races to run in this COVID-19 world. I am always looking for ways to maintain my running edge and adding more miles to my training program appears to be a good thing for me.
Happy to report I logged 615 miles so far in 2021. I have not been consistent with my long runs but routinely get in three quality sessions each week.
Tuesdays: 3 – 4 miles (after work)
Thursdays: 4 – 6 miles (after work)
Saturdays: 6 – 8 miles (morning runs)
My Tuesday and Thursday runs are done when I get off work, so I am not concerned about my run times during these sessions. Working 9, 10, 11-hour days creates a mental drain, but I still make time to hit the road since this helps to recharge me physically and mentally. Some days are a lot slower than others, but I smile because I am out doing something I love. Never thought I would say that, but I would be lost without my running program—it just took me awhile to come to this conclusion.
My Saturday runs are not like my long training sessions when I had half marathons to train for. I routinely crushed 10+ mile runs on Saturdays before my move to Fort Pierce but 8 is the longest distance I hit when running locally. I have not found a route that allows me to enjoy the run while getting in longer distances. I have searched multiple locations, but nothing is available like the St. Mark’s Trail or John Brown Park in Tallahassee:
The trail system in Tallahassee allowed me to push my mileage and extend my long runs up to 16 miles on multiple training sessions. I plan to get back to the longer versions of my runs since I am looking forward to getting back to being a running tourist.
I am scheduled to run the 2021 Rock n Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon in September. I have never run this race or visited the city so looking forward to getting back to a starting line to test my conditioning against some world class athletes. My goal for this race is to run another Personal Record (PR) and get under 2 hours for the distance. I was on track to go under 2 hours before COVID-19 hit the world, but I am confident I am going to hit my goal.
My training for Virginia Beach will increase my speed towards the Orlando OUC Half Marathon in December. This course is completely flat so it should provide a fast track to help me hit my goals. This will truly springboard my runs into 2022 as I gear up for a full running season—8 or more half marathons.
A full marathon (26.2 miles) will make it on my goals list for 2022—there I said it so now it is out in the open. Let’s see who is going to run it with me! Come on Laurens! 😊
What goals did you set for 2021? How is your progress so far?
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible”.
(Tony Robbins)
Walk Into the Future 