Goals & Aspirations

It's now more than half-way into 2011, and I thought it would be a good time to put pen to paper (so to speak) on what my fitness goals and aspirations are for the rest of the year. As of this writing, I've put in 373 miles in between power walking and cycling thus far. I have daily mile to thank for keeping my tally up as otherwise, I certainly couldn't even begin to guess that I've pounded the pavement that much.

I'm thankful that this year has been better health-wise than 2010 was. While I have dealt with some back woes, it's not really been too bad. I completed my first-ever 10k just about a year after my back injury this past March, and that success still excites and motivates me. That said, I haven't been as active with my power walks as much as I should be. Since getting back into cycling, I've been more than anxious about riding my bike than walking as of late. Having a new "fitness toy" has really been great and I love being able to get my "speed" on with it. The feeling I get from being on my bike is so accelerating and the new-found confidence that I've gained from Cycling Savvy has empowered me to want to get out there more than ever. I don't want that feeling to fade away, but I also don't want to neglect my other fitness goals.

This week, I've been seriously starting to again consider training for a 1/2 marathon. I've been looking at the Hal Higdon training chart for walkers and I just know that I can do it. Now that I've conquered the 10k distance, doing 13.1 miles doesn't seem so intimidating. Sure, it's not easy, but definitely not impossible. With that in mind, I'm going to start the 1/2 marathon training next week. The program is a 12-week long one, which would put me ready to go for my first 1/2 in October. I think that's plenty of time to do it. The Space Coast Marathon & 1/2 Marathon are in late November, so I'm going to shoot for doing that 1/2 if I'm still in Central Florida then. If not, I'm sure I can find a 1/2 in the Asheville area to complete by the holidays.

My other goals are to do a duathlon this year and of course some more 5k events. I don't think I'm going to do any races until September, but that could change. I definitely want to do the Autumn Rock'N Run 5k with Track Shack on September 10th. I've never done that race and it sounds like a lot of fun with all the music. As far as my cycling goes, besides my duathlon goal, I will be participating in as many group rides as I can with the Commute Orlando group. And, I plan upon riding my bike on some local trails like Cady Way soon.

Question for those who have already conquered the 1/2 marathon and the full marathons, do you think it's best to have a race goal in mind when you are training for a marathon? I may need to find something in October to shoot for as maybe having a goal race in mind is best. I'd love to hear your thoughts!