First Run of 2011!

Joy here...Okay, I'll admit it...the holidays have definitely taken their toll on my fitness and my waistline.  I somehow feel like I'm back where I was last year at this time when I literally burst out of my pants after a two-week Christmas holiday.

How did this happen again???

But instead of feeling discouraged by feeling smooshy, lazy, and out of shape, I'm telling myself that I have to recognize that people have all sorts of phases - ups and downs - and that it's not worth beating myself up over it.  Instead, I'm focusing on the positives.  I may have some holiday food still sticking to my stomach, thighs, and butt; however, I haven't lost all my half marathon fitness.  Last year at this time, I had to huff and puff to try and run for 30 minutes, and now I can run for around 90 minutes if I must.  And last year, I had to huff and puff to try and run for 5kms, and now I can run for around 15kms if I must.  So I need to hold onto those numbers, because if I was able to improve from my 30 minute, 5km runs to run a 10km race in the spring, then there's no reason that I can't improve on my 90 minute, 15km runs to be able to run a 30km race this coming spring.  I might not be fast, and I might not be a lean, mean running machine, but if I can run those 30kms and feel comfortable doing it, then it will be a victory for me.

So on my quest for that kind of a moderate victory, here are my run stats for my first run of 2011:

Ran for a total of 1:25:18 for a distance of 14.66km with an average pace of 5:49min/km.

That's a decent baseline starting point for my 30km aspirations.  For my two 10km races, my main goal was to run in less than 1hr, which I achieved; for my half marathon, my main goal was to run in less than 2hrs, which I achieved; so I think that I'm formulating a goal to run this 30km race in less than 3hrs.  

So in the less-than-three-months between now and then, I will try to run at least one long run every weekend and try to increase my distance by one or two kilometres until I can reasonably run for around 3 hours.  Fingers crossed!

At least 2011 is off to a good start, as the goal of that 30km run is huge and looms large, but at this point it does seem do-able.  Granted, there'll be a lot of pain to make that do-able...but no pain, no gain, right?

Over and out, 

Joy