This is the second in four posts about goals for 2014.
Waiting for the end to come… Wishing I had strength to stand…
This is not what I had planned… It’s out of my control….
Linkin Park – Waiting For The End
When I ran my first half-marathon, I set up a playlist on my iPhone that was roughly the length of the time I anticipated running – just short of 3 hours. I put several songs at the end, and Waiting for the End by Linkin Park was near the end. Psychologically it might have not been the best choice, but it did describe how I knew I would be feeling at that point in the race.
If you knew me before 2011, “physically fit” would not be a phrase you would have associated with me. To look at me now, it still wouldn’t be a phrase you would use. I need to lose about 35 lbs this year – a goal I had set last year and almost achieved, but ended up gaining most of it back.
If you knew me before 2011, another phrase you would not have used would be “fast”, as in, having the ability to move one’s body quickly. I seem to recall running a 14 minute mile in the 8th grade, but after that, I don’t think I ever broke that speed record again until 2011. 14 minutes to run a mile (4.2 mph) is quite slow – the Lose It app on my tablet classifies that as a brisk walk.
In 2011, my wife and I decided we needed to take up running. We were encouraged by me working at a place where, at the time, around a quarter of the company would run in the Country Music Half Marathon every Spring. We started with the C25K program, where you gradually work your
way up to running a 5k. From there, we worked our way into a half marathon training program.
That fall, we ran our first half – the Middle Half in Murfreesboro, TN. Our times weren’t great – just shy of 3 hours (around 4.4 mph overall), but we did it – we both went from sitting on our couches at the beginning of the year, to completing a half marathon.
Since then, I have run the Country Music Half Marathon in 2012 and 2013, a few 5Ks and a 10K. My personal record (PR) for the half is 2:43:33 – again, not great, but an improvement over other races.
My wife, on the other hand, has run two half marathons – Country Music 2013, the Womens Half 2013, but she also pushed herself and completed a full marathon – Rock & Roll Savannah 2013.
2014 Goal
In order to continue losing weight and getting in better shape, this year I am committing to running two more half marathons. Training for a full isn’t something I have the time for at the moment, but working at improving my time for a half is something I need to do. My goal is to break 2:30:00 at either Country Music 2014, or another race, possibly the Middle Half.
Looking back, if you had asked me in early 2010 if I would ever run a half marathon, or even a 5k, I would have laughed. I am here to tell you today that it is possible – it just takes some time, some effort, and the will power to get out there every day with your eye set on the goal.