Race goals and training recap: Skidaway Island Half Marathon
Saturday is my goal race for spring 2015! On Friday we'll be heading to Savannah for the Skidaway Island Half Marathon. I've never been to Savannah, so in addition to the race, I'm looking forward to a day of exploring on Friday.
It's hard to believe another training cycle is in the books, and this is probably the best one I've had since I've been running. Sure, I didn't do as much crosstraining or get in as much speedwork as I would have liked, but I did get in a much more consistent schedule of core/strength training than I ever have before and in general, I ran more miles and more days per week. Progress is good.
Things got a little rough in March with illness and work travel, but this is the first training cycle that I didn't miss any long runs over 10 miles. I was even planning to do an extra one last week, since I wasn't really intending on a taper, but there were some family things going on and the only day I had to run that extra 10-miler was Sunday. And on Sunday, I was on baby patrol with a sick baby, so no extra 10-miler happening there. But that's okay because I still ran two 10-milers, one 11-miler, and one 12-miler this time around, not to mention the accumulated training I've had going on since fall. I think I'm ready.
It's looking like the weather could be a little rainy on Saturday, but probably not until afternoon. For the race, right now it's looking like it will just be overcast with temps in the low 60s. There will be humidity, though, so that could slow me down a little because humidity definitely affects me. But I have been running in sort of similar weather, so I'm hoping it won't be too drastic.
The good:
- Four long runs over 10 miles. Milestone achieved. This will be my 7th half marathon and it's the first time I've run more than two long runs over 10 miles.
- Better quality workouts focused on speed pick-ups or progressive running with negative splits, even on easier paced days
- Consistent core/strength workouts (but not as many per week as I'd like)
The bad:
- Lack of crosstraining
- Lack of speedwork sessions
- Less weekly mileage than I would have liked
For the next time:
- Crosstraining - I want to start going to the spin studio near my house for crosstraining. And I'd really love it if an Orange Theory Fitness opened up in Mount Pleasant because that would be awesome for speedwork sessions, crosstraining, and strength (three birds, one stone - perfect!).
- More speedwork. It needs to happen if I want to keep getting faster.
- Weekly mileage closer to 30 miles per week instead of 20
And finally, my race goals:
- "A"/stretch goal : 1:45 (~8:00/mile)
- "B" goal: 1:49 (~8:18/mile)
- "C" goal: 1:52 (~8:32/mile)
I'm really not sure I'm ready to run a 1:45 half marathon yet, so that's my (long) stretch goal. If I make it, awesome, if not, I won't be surprised. I am hoping to go sub-1:50, though.
And if all else fails, I want to PR. My official PR time from the Charleston half is 1:55 and some change. But that course was long, and I have no idea how they recalculated it. I typically don't do this, but my Garmin had me at 1:53 for the half at that race, so I'd really like to come in under that. But anything below 1:55 would be an official PR.
I know I'm in better shape than I was then and of course, I have another round of training on my legs. I'm also 9 1/2 months post-baby instead of a few days shy of 7 months (and trust me, that makes a difference!).
Whatever happens, I'm sure it will be a beautiful course by the ocean! Can't go wrong there! And after this, I've got Nashville at the end of April and then I'm free from the half distance until fall. Bring on the paddleboarding and summer track workouts!