My fall 2014 race schedule (and goals)

It's so exciting to finally have races back on my calendar after not racing since the Charleston Half last January. I absolutely love racing and I've missed it a lot.

This training season is all about rebuilding and getting back into the swing of things. I'm not focused on PRing because I know I've got a way to go yet before I can start looking for that (hopefully in the spring training cycle that will happen). I still have goals for each race, though, even if PRs aren't likely in sight. I did set some overall fitness goals for this fall back in August, but these are more specific to my race schedule.

Isle of Palms Connector Run 5K (10/4/14) - Training race

Since this is my first race postpartum, I truly have no idea what to expect. My goal is to finish it in less time than I ran my first 5K (and first race ever) back in June 2012, which was 26:51. My stretch goal is sub-25 minutes which is about what I was running last fall in my first trimester.

James Island Connector Run 10K (11/1/14) - Goal race

This is the race I'm currently training for, so it's my goal race for this cycle. However, I have low expectations as far as my finish time. Like the IOP Connector Run, I'd just like to come in under my first 10K time (run in September 2012), which was 54:22. I know I'm probably not going to touch my PR (49:25), but my stretch goal is 52:00 minutes.

Turkey Day Gobble Wobble 5K (11/27/14) - Just for fun

I loved this race last year! It's so fun to get up on Thanksgiving and head downtown for this huge 5K. We have family coming into town and they may be interested in running the race, too. In which case, I'll probably just run this one for fun without worries or time goals.

12/6/14 - Reindeer Run 5K (12/6/14) - Autumn's goal race

I'm hoping that my beagle, Autumn, will be able to run this race. I started running with her last week and so far, she can do a run/walk for about a mile at about a 15:00/mile pace. So, we've got some work to do. I'll still run it without her, but still will probably run this one just as a training run if I do.

Nexton Cocoa Cup 5K (12/20/14) - Goal race

This one will be my goal 5K for this training cycle. I'll have a lot more miles under my legs and hopefully some amount of conditioning and speed work since it will be a month out from the Charleston Half. I'm still not looking for a PR here, but I'd like to run sub-24 minutes. My stretch goal would actually be a PR.

Charleston (Half) Marathon (1/17/15) - Goal race

This race is the culmination of all of my fall training. While I'd love to say I want a PR, it's still too far off to know if that will be possible, so I'll just say I'm looking for sub-2 hours at this point and revisit that goal as the time gets closer.

So that's it! There may be a few unexpected races sneak in on this schedule but this is what I have planned. I've got a lot of tentative races on my calendar for winter/spring 2015, but I'll see how this season shakes out before jumping into those. In any case, it's good to be back!