Stability Through Motion

Well, my last big race of the year is over, so it’s time to reflect and to plan.

Plans for 2008, in order of priority, were as follows:

1. Sub 3:15 marathon
2. Sub 1:30 half marathon
3. Sub 40 minute 10k
4. 40 mile race for 40th birthday
5. 3:20 at Snowdonia Marathon
6. No injuries
   

So everything bar number 5 achieved - and the 3:20 plan was actually only decided fairly last minute. I’d targetted 3:30 originally, which I did achieve, and I did PB for the course, so I should be happy (but of course I’m not, grrr, argghhh, grrr).

I’ll have run 2,000 miles this year - my highest mileage yet, completed two road marathons, two 24 mile off-road races and a 40 mile ultra - my busiest race year to date.

Here’s a lovely chart - showing weekly mileage this year (and revealing also why Snowdonia didn’t go so well - comparatively low mileage in the weeks before).

Looking ahead to 2009 the major plan is to shoot for a sub 3 hour marathon. I’ll keep up long runs on the trails and fells as much as I can - but the plan will require more dedicated road miles and harder work. The spring marathon, wherever it ends up being, will be the prime target, but to be honest, I’d be happy to be closer to 3:05 there, then shoot for sub 3 in an autumn attempt.

Where to go in the spring? I didn’t get a ballot place at FLM, and need another sub 3:15 to guarantee entry for 2010. There’s the call of Antwerp, Paris, Rome or . . . Stratford on Avon! Then I’ve been recommended Luxembourg, so that’s a possibility.

So much for goals, targets and so on - I somehow want to combine that with the sheer easy-going fun of running along hill ridges, or down wooded slopes in the countryside.

Tags: charts, goals, plans, targets

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 at 9:37 am and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.