Tuesday, October 11, 2005
A Day of Rest and Planning
I decided to take a rest day yesterday, no training. I started training relatively soon after my marathon and I feel it. Of course this was necessary to try to get ready for the mountain run this past weekend. This week I need to be a little more conservative with my training, I have a 10K race this coming Saturday and need to try to get rid of my cold by that time. I am part of a 24-person team from my company that is running in support of the Unicef Children’s Fund. I don’t anticipate a PB, but I still would like a strong run, say under 50:00.
I was thinking about my long term running goals last night on the way home from work. Basically these can be broken down into two categories, speed goals and endurance goals. The triathlon falls in between the two somewhere.
In any case I am trying to come up with a plan for next year. The earliest conceivable marathon for me would be on March 12, 2006, the Bienwald (Bee Forest) Marathon. I completed the Bienwald HM this past March, I know the course, it's doable even in a snow storm! This would mean I need to keep up with my long runs throughout the winter. There are of course marathons every month after that throughout the year.
At this point in time I don’t know if my swimming and bike conditioning will be where I want it to be in order to consider a triathlon in 2006. I will probably postpone a decision on this until next March or April. There are three main factors effecting this decision: 1) When I can schedule a freestyle swim course; 2) When we take our vacation; 3) My work/family time requirements for the Spring/Summer (e.g. how much time is left after my wife/boss get their portion).
One of my prerequisites for participating in the 80K ultra-marathon next June in the neighboring City of Karlsruhe was that I had a strong finish in the Baden Marathon last month. Although I finished with a new PB, I did not finish as strong as I should have if I seriously want to complete a very tough 80K event (e.g. lots of hills). Unless I can really improve my endurance, and can verify it by completing a marathon without hitting the wall, I do not anticipate doing an 80K ultra-marathon event. Next year is probably too soon. It may not happen at all because of the time required for training. Dito with the 4-Day march (Ultrawalk) in Holland. But I will keep them on my list.
I was thinking about my long term running goals last night on the way home from work. Basically these can be broken down into two categories, speed goals and endurance goals. The triathlon falls in between the two somewhere.
In any case I am trying to come up with a plan for next year. The earliest conceivable marathon for me would be on March 12, 2006, the Bienwald (Bee Forest) Marathon. I completed the Bienwald HM this past March, I know the course, it's doable even in a snow storm! This would mean I need to keep up with my long runs throughout the winter. There are of course marathons every month after that throughout the year.
At this point in time I don’t know if my swimming and bike conditioning will be where I want it to be in order to consider a triathlon in 2006. I will probably postpone a decision on this until next March or April. There are three main factors effecting this decision: 1) When I can schedule a freestyle swim course; 2) When we take our vacation; 3) My work/family time requirements for the Spring/Summer (e.g. how much time is left after my wife/boss get their portion).
Ultramarathon/Ultrawalking Goals
One of my prerequisites for participating in the 80K ultra-marathon next June in the neighboring City of Karlsruhe was that I had a strong finish in the Baden Marathon last month. Although I finished with a new PB, I did not finish as strong as I should have if I seriously want to complete a very tough 80K event (e.g. lots of hills). Unless I can really improve my endurance, and can verify it by completing a marathon without hitting the wall, I do not anticipate doing an 80K ultra-marathon event. Next year is probably too soon. It may not happen at all because of the time required for training. Dito with the 4-Day march (Ultrawalk) in Holland. But I will keep them on my list.
# posted by Jack : 7:19 AM
