A Year In The Balance

So, we're 9 days into 2015. It's been a pretty good year so far. I mean, what can go wrong in 9 days, right?

I started off 2015 with a 15 mile run and I think that was a good way to set the tone for the year.

 

I am focusing on running in 2015 but still have others goals to achieve throughout the year (like rock climbing and traveling). My coach, Justin, thought it would be fun to end 2014 with 14 miles on Wednesday and then start 2015 with 15 miles on Thursday. I was a little nervous about it but it went really well. I'd split Wednesday's run into 2 runs and ran to/from work. I hadn't done that in a while and it was good to get back to run commuting. Of driving, riding, and running to work...running to work is the least stressful and most fun. Especially if it's raining.

So with those 2 runs plus the 14er I did on Sunday and the other runs for the week, I finished/started the year with a 60 mile week! I remember back this summer when I was running 20 miles per week and so tired and thinking how am I ever going to run 50-60 miles per week without being exhausted? But I felt pretty good at the end of the week! Yay for progress! I feel like I am ready to up the mileage and put in the hard work as I get ready for the LA Marathon in March.

Which leads me to my goal for 2015 - PR the 5K, 10K, Half, and Marathon!

BUT...not kill myself trying to do it AND make sure I never lose the fun factor!

I had a conversation with one of my Twitter friends this week where we talked about fears and being hard on ourselves. I told her that after my cancer scare, I found that I am more determined to do the things I want but also more relaxed about things. If I miss a run because I'm sick, it's not the end of the world. If I have a cupcake or have a couple of splurge days, I'm not going to balloon back up to 200+ lbs. I know that I need to stay focused and work towards my goals but I also need to live and work and have fun.

The way that I have taken a little bit of the pressure off myself is by hiring Justin to help me with my running. This way, he has to do all the hard work of designing my training schedule and I just get to have the fun of running it. I trust him and his methods to know that if I put in the work, I will get faster and will be able to PR. It might not happen right away, but it WILL happen.

I saw this really great quote a couple of weeks ago and I think it's kind of key to how I am approaching my PR goal...

 



So, I don't know exactly what it will take to get to my goals (and I sort of don't want to know) or how difficult it will be (also don't want to know this either) but I for sure am cocky enough to believe I can do it!

And what I mean about not wanting to know what it will take or how difficult it will be is this:

• I don't know what speed work, tempo runs, etc will help me get there. I don't know what pace each of the workouts should be. I don't know when to do this and then do that, etc. But Justin does. So, like I said, I'm letting him do that for me.
• I also don't want to know that at some point I'll have to run mile repeats at an 8 min pace or whatever those workouts will be because I'm not ready for them yet. Thinking about what I will have to do is scary and the fear might make me reluctant to try. But if I don't KNOW what's coming, I can just focus on what I can do NOW. I'll get stronger as I do what I'm supposed to and then I won't be scared later when I get the crazy workouts (which hopefully won't seem crazy by then).

Does that make sense?

BUT as I said above...I absolutely BELIEVE I can pull this off. I WILL see my PRs drop in 2015.

I know it.

I hope you'll follow along for the ride. :)