One Goal Down, Many More to Go

Hours after finishing the Smuttynose Rockfest Marathon, a good friend told me in a Facebook message, "It's so amazing that you continue to set new goals."

She's exactly right. After a week and a half of relaxing, catching up on the DVR and yard work, and not doing load after load of laundry, I'm ready to get back at it.

So what is next? In a week and a half I run the Ashland Half Marathon. It's nearby, it's inexpensive and it starts at the original Boston Marathon start (before it moved west a bit to Hopkinton). I wanted to run the inaugural race last year, but it fell one week before my marathon, so I passed. The timing's better this year, and I managed to recruit a couple friends to boot.

Beyond that, I'm not sure. I like running Turkey Trots, but this year, I'm traveling. (This also rules out participating in the Runner's World Run Streak, though I plan to tackle the Runner's World Pun Streak.) I may tackle a couple wintry 5Ks with some friends or maybe do my first New Year's Day race, if I can find one. I'd love to set an "adult" PR in a 5K -- that is, a post college PR, since a sub-18 minute 5K is just about out of the question -- but I don't think I'm going to set a real goal.

Looking further, I think I found my 10th marathon: Maine Coast, on Mother's Day weekend. I needed something early in the season, since I have at least four weddings this spring, and also one nearby, since I have at least four weddings this spring. I'd love to PR in this marathon -- I came within 18-odd seconds of one at Smuttynose, and I know what I need to do differently -- and that sounds like a pretty good goal to me.

I'm also pumped for the Runner's World Heartbreak Hill Half in June. I've trained on Heartbreak Hill many times -- starting with a hill workout as a high school freshman -- and love running in the surrounding area. (Plus, now the Runner's World editors can meet the guy who bugs them on Twitter.) The half is also accompanied by a 5K and 10K. I've never done more than one race in one weekend, so doing three (in this case, the Hat Trick) will be a reward worth the effort. Plus, I like hats.

I've talked about setting running goals before. It's important to have a goal in mind for each run, even if it's simply "Get out the door." Running is awesome, but as its detractors are quick to point out, it's also boring and repetitive. They're not wrong -- and that's why continuing to set goals, especially several months in advance, will keep you running through it all.

Recovering From a Bad Trip (Or, Why I Loathe Business Travel)

My Runner's World Summer Run Streak came to an abrupt end earlier this thanks to a familiar foe: The business trip.

When I travel for work, I'm almost always covering a conference. That means waking up early to get breakfast, spending several hours sitting in keynotes, panel discussions and technical sessions, making small talk and, usually, eating a late dinner. It's a necessary evil.

I packed my running shoes this time, fully intending to run when I got to the hotel, but instead hit the hotel bar with a former colleague I hadn't seen in more than a year. Bye bye, streak.

That was Tuesday. Wednesday was a loss, as it was legitimately a 14-hour day. And then the Bruins went to triple overtime. I fell asleep at 1 a.m.

Six hours later, my alarm went off. I thought about hitting snooze 23 times, as I had the previous morning, but it was time to suck it up, hit the pool and swim for 15 minutes before moderating a panel discussion at 9 a.m.

Then it took me 21 hours to get home from the conference in Florida. (Stupid weather made my flight into Dulles land right about the time my connecting flight to Boston was taking off, and I spend the night at the airport.) Ninety minutes of work on Friday quickly gave way to a four-hour nap. Needless to say, I didn’t run Friday, either.

One 15-minute workout in four days sucks. But, just as it’s important to recover from bad races and bad workouts, you need to put bad stretches behind you, too. Celebrate the small victories -- for me, swimming at 7 a.m. on less than six hours of sleep and getting bumped up to first class on my flight home after my night at Dulles -- shake the cobwebs off your legs and get back out there.

I made up for my poor showing with 3.5 miles on Saturday and 9 on Sunday. Neither were tremendous efforts, but after four days off, that doesn’t matter. There’s plenty of time to return to form. The end of my running streak, in the long run, is but a blip on the radar. 

(I thought I had ended the Runner’s World Pun Streak, too, but I guess not....)

I’m Going (Runner’s World Run) Streaking!!!

Monday marks the unofficial beginning of summer -- which, as I’ve noted, is not my favorite season. I spend many a day as close to a fan or air conditioner as possible, and the heat and humidity make me grumpy. (Cue comments from peanut gallery.) 

Monday also marks the beginning of the Runner’s World Summer Run Streak. The aim is to bridge the gap between spring and fall training programs at a time when it’s easy to fall off the wagon, have a few too many servings of potato salad and lose some of the strength and stamina you’ve worked hard to gain. 

I don’t have to worry about the potato salad -- I despise mayonnaise -- but, since the Winter Run Streak helped me get back on my game after my disastrous fall marathon, I figure I’ll give the Summer Run Streak a shot as I bridge the gap between my upcoming half (the Amica Iron Horse Half Marathon on June 2) and the beginning of training for my fall marathon (the Smuttynose Rockfest on Oct. 6). 

The concept of the streak, for the initiated, is to run at least one mile every day between Memorial Day and Independence Day (39 days in all). During the winter streak (Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day), I made it 12 days before stubborn toe pain sidelined me. Of the 12 days, I ran a short, 1.5-mile-route at least six times -- meaning, it’s actually not as hard as it sounds. There is not, as far as my virtual friends at Runner’s World attest, any actual streaking involved. 

In addition to the run streak -- which I’ll be participating in via the #RWRunStreak Twitter hashtag so as to not bore you with all the details here -- there is the prestigious Runner’s World Pun Streak (#RWPunStreak). Frankly, I take far more pride in this streak. Anyone can run 39 straight days, but coming up with running repartee for 39 straight days is not for the faint of heart.

Anyway, the Runner’s World Summer Run Streak is a great way to kick off your summer and prepare you for the grind that summer running can be. Give it some thought,and happy running!