those splits tell the story...great stuff there...congrats and enjoy your recovery!
marathon pr - 3:16
Really nice even splits. Surprise PR's are the best.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
Is it only me and my fascination with bats, or does this look like a vampire rising out of the earth to anyone else?
Your PR is only a surprise to you! Your training this year has been nothing if not consistent. You have PR'd on nearly every course you have run this year, including that mostly gravel half marathon way back in the spring.
You obviously have the endurance, that you were able to maintain pace over the back half of that course is nothing short of incredible! If you are so inclined, it may be time to consider toying with some speed work next season, to take your running to the next level.
But for the here and now, what's next for this season? Another half marathon? I just know there is something in the works!
LRB -- It's does look like a bat! I didn't think of that until you clipped it.
I haven't signed up for any races at this point. I'm still mulling where to go from here. I want to continue to build my weekly mileage to the point where I can do a more advanced marathon training plan the next go around, which hopefully will include some speedwork, but I'm not sure when I will be ready to do that. I'm tentatively eying CIM 2014 for next year's goal race, but that is 14 months away! need to figure out some goals between now and then or I will go stir crazy.
Life is good.
CIM is a very popular course, and for good reason; it has PR written all over it!
As far as short term goals, I recommend racing the 10k. Racing one per month this past season is as responsible for my racing gains this year as was any of the speed work I did.
It builds stamina and endurance that will serve you well across all race distances. Should you embrace its challenge, you will not regret it. Promise.
That's good advice. 10Ks tend to be relatively sparse in my neck of the woods, but I should be able to scout out 1 or 2 and find time to make the drive.
Great job, OOTB, congrats on the surprise PR!
Your training served you well, strong race. And the black bib is super cool.
What a delightful read! How often can a runner surprise him/herself like that in a race?! You ran a great smart race, congratulations!
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010