Sail on silver girl...Sail on by...Your time has come to shine...All your dreams are on their way...See how they shine

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

2011 race plans

I really love the idea of the "race of the month" club as I so affectionately call it. It is a great way to try out new races, see new cities/towns, and keep myself motivated throughout the year. The hardest part is trying not to do the same races over and over again each year. This will be the third year that I have tried to incorporate a different race a month (preferably outside of NYC) into my calender and, I must say, I have done a pretty good job at not being a repeat offender. However, the following are just some races that I love and that I am always tempted to do again and again each year.

1) Applefest 1/2 marathon in Hollis NH. The scenery is beautiful, the course challenging, and the post race spread- unbelievable!!!
2) Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY - One big block party from start to the finish at the Sarnac Brewery
3) Bradford Valentine Race in Bradford, MA - the cutest race I have ever done - complete with chocolate and a romantic weekend away in New England!
4) Cherry Blossom Road Race in Washington, DC - beautiful weather and a beautiful course-the year we did it coincided perfectly with the actual blooming of the cherry blossoms!
5)Reach the Beach Relay White Mts to Hampton beach, NH Nothing more fun then spending 24 hours in a van with 5 other crazy, smelly runners. Running in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night and after not sleeping for almost 24 hours makes for perhaps the most fun ever had in the sport of running.

I still have not decided on my races of the month for 2011. It is abit overwhelming since there is so many amazing races to chose from. If money were no object, I would travel every weekend to a new race place. In fact, one of my lifetime goals is to do a race (they do not have to be marathons) in each of the 50 states. I want to start keeping official track of it this year and start to put more thought into achieving this goal.

I would love to hear anyone's suggestions about races that they loved as I get set to plan out my races this year!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Sunday Night = Plans for the Week 2

So the first week of the new year was so-so for me when it came to sticking with my plans. I find this happens every year with me. That first week (and sometimes first month) is always a sort of trial run week (or month) for me. It takes me awhile to get into it, but then, I have to say I do a pretty good job at keeping (at least to the basics of) my goals for the year.

Last week I did a pretty good job with drinking more water, increasing my weekly running mileage (32 miles), and taking time to appreciate what I have and paying it forward. I also signed up for my first race - the Manhattan 1/2 Marathon - of 2011! Although I think I will be more "running" it then "racing" it! I don't think I am in any shape to be racing a half marathon. It is still absolutely amazing to me how quickly I can lose my "fitness" after just a few weeks off. I feel like it is my speed that suffers the most, not necessarily my endurance. I felt fine during my 13 mile long run this weekend, but thought I was going to die during a mile repeat on tuesday night. According to the McMillan calculator, my 6:24 mile brings be back down to a 3:36 marathon/1:42 half marathon pace currently - oops! Oh well, that just means back to the ole' training program and some hill repeats to gain back some of that speed- especially if I do decide on a spring marathon.

This week I was not very good at cross training (I didnt do any!!), taking my vitamins (again, none!), or doing anything "academic" (nada!). This week's plans are therefore going to be very similar to last week's plans.

Week 2 Plans:
Mind: review chosen topic for work

Body: Run Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sunday
cross train 2x/week
Drink at least 2 water bottles full of water daily (48oz) + 8oz with vitamins

Soul: Daily Gratitude Journal
Send out a card a week to a friend/family member just because to let them know I am thinking of them

Here's to a better week ahead!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Sunday Night = Plans for the Week

Trying to get myself organized for this first week of a (hopefully) wonderful new year!
In keeping with my newly defined goals of the year, here are my plans for the week.

Mind: review chosen topic for work

Body: Run Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sunday
cross train 2x/week (probably Mon and Wed)
Drink at least 2 water bottles full of water daily (48oz) + 8oz with vitamins

Soul: Daily Gratitude Journal
Send out my "Happy Winter" cards to friends as a way to reconnect and to
surprise them with snail mail (it is always so much fun to get mail!)

I can already tell that there is not going to be enough time in each day to do all the things I am currently excited about doing, but at least if I try to do one thing a day towards my goals, I will feel productive and that always makes me feel better!!

Despite all this excitement about goals/plans/lists and starting a new year and a clean slate, I have to say that I have a bad case of the Sunday Night Blues. I wish I had a week off to do all that I want to do. I know once the work week starts I will be fine, but sometimes it is just so hard to get the work week started!

I am off to go enjoy the rest of the weekend. As a way of savoring the last bit of the holidays before returning to the real world tomorrow, I am going to eat my mom's homemade raviolis (that she makes every year for Christmas) for my dinner. Yummy!!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

A New Year- A Clean Slate

2010 Recap
miles ran: 1325
races completed: 9 (1 marathon,4 half marathons,1 15K,1 6K,2 5Ks)

I absolutely love the clean-slate feeling New Years brings and the opportunity it affords to set new goals and new visions for the upcoming year.

This year I have decided to break my goals up into 3 categories: Mind, Body, and Soul.

There are a few goals that I made last year, like running 1200 miles and running a race a month, that I would like to carry over into 2011.

2011 Goals

Mind:
1) Read at least 10 books this year
2) Focus in on one topic/month for my profession and post an article on our professional website on such topic

Body:
1) 1201 miles in 2011
2) Incorporate 2 cross-training sessions/week
3) Weekly healthy habits - (to be determined weekly) such as drinking enough water daily, taking my vitamins, making lunch daily, etc.

Soul:
1) Daily Gratitude Journal
2) Love more, criticize less
3) Daily/weekly soup for the soul- each week I will set weekly goals for this category- but I would basically just like to make more time for the little stuff in life, like making cookies, meeting up with friends, connecting with family members, and maybe even some self-pampering!

Miscellaneous:
My race of the month club goal!
I don't know what category to put this one in because I think it fits in all three categories. It is obviously good for my body, but it is also as equally beneficial for my mind and my soul. The thing that I love the most about the race of the month is that often times it gets us out of the city for a mini weekend vacation away- and what is better for the mind, body, and soul then that?!

I am excited to start figuring out my races of the month and my race plans for 2011 tomorrow! This task is by far my favorite! Be back to post some of my race plans tomorrow.

Bring on 2011!!!