New Beginnings

I started my second semester of grad school in EE yesterday. My schedule is very odd, and I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to mesh it with my running schedule yet. Tuesday and Thursday I am pretty much swamped from 8-6. It's going to be rather difficult to get a run or two in around the lab sessions that I both take and teach. On the plus side, MWF are pretty free days for me, so I should be able to get enough in on those days.

On the theme of new beginnings, I'm also beginning my next six-month training period. My goal race for this is the Gary Bjorkland Half Marathon on June 21st. For those who don't know, that's the half marathon that corresponds to Gradma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. Having grown up watching the marathon (and half) every year, and never having run it, I'm looking forward to finally putting my name in the lottery. Granted, I'm not certain to get in, but being a first time runner, from out of town, and with the possibility of posting a good time, I have a better chance than many.

My goal pace is 6 minute miles, putting me at a final time of 1:18:40 or so. I figure this is well within my reach, since I'll be coming down from altitude for the race, and I know I can post a 10k of that pace up here. That still won't put me all that far up in the standings, though. I believe the winner last year came in at around 1:05.

So in the interest of posting a good time, I'm focusing on this race for the next 6 months. During the next 3, I'm going to increase my mileage from where it stands now (around 40 miles a week) to around 70. I don't even need to increase my mileage that much each week to do so. Around 6% a week will get me there right on time.

We shall see how that works. My coach is of the opinion that I haven't even come close to touching my potential yet. The friends who know me as a runner think the same.

As my friend Sonya (who's blog is linked at right) says "You have to believe it so much you get goosebumps every time you think about it."