Future Goals

Daily Quote: "I'm of the opinion the notion of an easy day for every mile of the race distance is a fairly good rule of thumb. It you run a hard 10k, then you make sure you're running easy for a minimum of six days after that. And with the marathon, I would encourage runners not to do anything intense -- no tempo runs, no intervals, no hill repeats -- in that first 26 days. A lot of the East African runners will take a month after a race where they will do very, very, little." --Pete Rea, Running Times Magazine, June 2008, pg 22.

8:15 a.m. Today is a slow Recovery Run of 5 miles. Time: 48:33 minutes, 9:42 minutes per mile pace. Out and back on Torrey Pines, which partially traverses the Las Vegas Marathon Course. Partly cloudy, 55 degrees, winds SE at 23 mph. Average heart rate: 148 bpm. Cardiac drift: 151 bpm. (Note my maximum heart rate is 190 bpm)

Today was windy and cooler than yesterday, plus I started out the door earlier...apparently too early as in the first mile I ran in a sleepy daze, wasn't until after my run noticed that in my morning stupor I put on my old running shoes New Balance 845, which are now walking shoes! Fortunately, the shoes didn't harm my feet as the running distance was short.

FUTURE GOALS

I needed to find a Long Range Goal as to keep myself motivated to improve my running. The "2008 Zappos Las Vegas Marathon" on December 9th is a given goal as to keep my LVM streak alive (Finished SEVEN Las Vegas Marathons in a row) and will beat my marathon personal record of 3:44:58!

Now that I've set one goal for this year, I need something different, tougher, and more challenging for 2009. I want something closer to home as to be cheaper (spent too much money in Boston), therefore I checked the new, local site called, "Calico Racing," that wishes to create and promote longer races in the Las Vegas area. Calico Racing has just finished a 50k race last Saturday called, "Labor of Love 50k" and sounds perfect for my next long term goal of finishing my very first ultra marathon race!! The description of "Labor of Love 50k" from the Calico site states:

All race distances start and finish at Lovell Canyon Road just off Highway 160. Commencing at an elevation of roughly 4500 feet, runners will experience high desert vegetation to include Joshua Trees, Pinion-Juniper, Mountain Rose, Sagebrush, and a relatively lush Toiyabe National Forest not commonly associated with Las Vegas. The road twists and turns thru the canyon; a true treasure of the Spring Mountains N.R.A.

50K: 6am Start time

The 50K follows the paved Lovell Canyon Road for roughly 11 miles twisting and turning covering rolling and gradually uphill terrain. Just before reaching privately owned Sky Ranch, runners turn left onto the dirt Lovell Summit Road. This section becomes tough as runners climb to the summit at roughly 6805 feet by roughly mile 13. 50K runners continue west of the summit along this same dirt road to their turn around point at mile 15.5. Climbing back up to the summit, runners retrace their steps back along Lovell Summit Road back to the paved Lovell Canyon Road where they return to the finish line. Total paved= 22 miles; Total dirt road= 9 miles. NOTE: IF we have a late snowfall or unusually high precipitation before the race, the dirt road may be too muddy to run, access, and support. IF this is the case, Calico Racing reserves the right to amend the course to ensure everyone's safety. The contingency plan to make up the distance would be to include an out and back section along the paved Lovell Canyon Road. Fingers crossed for Mother Nature to cooperate! ***Course update: The mud has dried and we are calling for no precipitation before race day! The 50K course will be run as originally intended with 9 miles of dirt road- and a steep climb from miles 11-13.

I now have two major goals, "The Zappos Las Vegas Marathon and "Labor of Love 50k!" I'll have minor goals interspersed around these major goals and am looking forward to a challenging two years.