Sunday, June 24, 2007

Why am I here?

Well, I've decided to run. I've been racewalking for four years (and I'm a racewalking coach for Team in Training), but I've decided I want to do something different. You can read all about my racewalking history here on my old blog. This blog will maintain my running efforts and training.

Why run? I don't know. After my last race (FANS 24 hour) I felt a need for a change. I was a little tired of ultras (I won't give them up forever, but I felt like a break) and, to be honest, I felt a desire to go faster. I just want to see what it's like to run. The few times I've run on trails in the woods have been wonderful, such a great feeling of speed. So I'm going to run for a while. I've been running for a little over two weeks now, gradually trying to increase my speed and endurance.

A "fantasy goal" that I have is to qualify for the Boston Marathon before I turn 40. That means I'll have to qualify for 2008 or 2009. To qualify, I'll have to be able to run a marathon at a 7:23 pace. Right now, just breaking 8:00 for a mile is tough. So I plan to focus on speed for several months and not worry too much about long runs. I'm going to try to run a 20 minute 5k, then increase my distance and identify a Boston qualifier marathon to attempt. I'll also do some half marathons and other distances along the way. I don't think 2008 is even close to realistic, so I'm focusing on 2009. I hope to do some half marathons in the winter, then a full marathon in the spring, then plan on some marathons in the winter of 2008/2009 as my qualifying races. We'll see; it may all be a pipe dream!