In addition to kayaking when we can, my beautiful wife Charlene and I have started hitting the ball around on the local tennis courts, plus regular exercise.
After starting this new running lifestyle in January to prepare for the Blue Nose Marathon 10K as part of Team Myles 2014, the running has continued.
My running mentor Jeff Nearing is still a great motivator and I let him talk me into trying a half marathon to end 2014 in full stride. Honestly never saw a half marathon in my future, but sometimes you just have to go for it. A half marathon is technically 21.097494K (or 21.1K).
So on Saturday, August 16, 2014, I registered for the Valley Harvest Marathon in the half marathon distance. As of now the event is just 52 days away (October 12) and I have a lot of work to do before heading to scenic Wolfville, NS for the big day!
Nearing, what have you gotten me into this time?!?
To kick off the official training I joined Jeff for a run on the BLT Trail this past Saturday after registering for the event. The BLT is an amazing route if you have never done it. It will be one of my new running homes.
Up to Saturday my longest run was 11K, completed on July 26. Jeff and I set out to do a slow 14K to start building the distance. It was a great run. We finished 14.36K in 1:23:55 - a pace of 5:51 min/km. That's much slower than my normal pace these days, but we held back in anticipation of the new found distance. At that pace it would take me 2:03:25 to complete the half marathon.
Jeff and I have been chatting about a time goal for the half marathon. I mentioned simply finishing it in under two hours (1:59:59) would be awesome. Jeff, in his usual slick style, has set my goals. He had great influence on my Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon 10K goal earlier this year as referenced in the blog post from March 31, 2014.
So here are my first half marathon goals, in writing, for all to see:
The Acceptable Goal: 1:54:59 (Average pace of 5:27 min/km)
The Actual Goal: 1:49:59 (Average pace of 5:13 min/km)
The Stretch Goal: 1:44:59 (Average pace of 4:59 min/km)
Don't tell Jeff, but just to finish will be more than 'acceptable' as I look at it right now!
I did a little research on Jeff's running progression to get some comparables. He did the Blue Nose Half Marathon on May 20, 2012 in 1:45:43 - that's a tougher course than the Valley Harvest. Fast forward to May 25, 2014 and he did the Ottawa FULL Marathon in 3:12:24. Jeff is a fast and dedicated runner. I'm glad to have him as a coach. mentor and friend in this new adventure.
For perspective, I have been working on building speed since the last post in June. A new 5K marker was set on July 19 completing it in 00:22:58 - an average pace of 4:36 min/km. On August 9, I nearly broke the sub-50 10K marker I have been working toward, completing the distance in 00:50:15 - just 16 seconds from the goal. Should have pushed harder to reduce the average pace of 5:02 min/km that was accomplished. Coming soon, I guarantee it!
To keep up that recent 10K pace over an additional 11.1K will be a challenge for sure.
So, with these goals in mind it will be six weeks of intense training. In the middle of it all Charlene and I are heading on another cruise. It's going to be another vacation that will include exercise and training, similar to this March 13 blog post memory. Given, it will help reduce the bar bill!
I'll blog regularly heading to the Valley Harvest Marathon to give progress updates. It will be a Thanksgiving Weekend to remember for sure!
A final quote:
"Most people become frustrated when they plan for a goal, then upon reaching it, they level off. A goal should be the next level, not the final result." - Unknown
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