I have only one race I consider a can't miss. No matter what direction my year takes I will do everything in my power to not only line up at the Cow Harbor 10k but to do so in shape to compete well. I have a few reasons for this but mostly it is a great race that suits me and that has treated me well over the years and so I really want to keep going back and to do well there. This year cow harbor is on September 17th.
Short Term Schedule
I will be racing the Race Menu Super Sunday 5 mile on February 7- Super Sunday 5 mile I have run there the last few years. I finished second last year in a 24:40 or so. I would like to win this year and be at least sub 25. That would accomplish one of my 2016 goals.
After that I'll be chasing another of my easier 2016 goals at the USATF-NE indoor championships on February 21 where I plan to run the 5000m.
By then I should be getting a bit fitter and sharper and I will follow it with the Ras An Mor 5k which is the USATF-NE road championship on March 6. I ran this a few years ago in what was a comedy of errors that involved locking my keys, racing shoes, race number and warm cloths in the my car just before race time. I hope to do better than that and get under 15 on the roads in what will most likely be cold wet conditions.
I will finish off the winter season with the New Bedford Half Marathon. Also the USATF-NE championship. The course is very fast by New England standards but depending on the wind it will run between 1 and 2 minutes slower than a truly flat fast course like Jacksonville. I'm hoping to be much fitter and not have the set backs I had leading into in Jax. I would be happy with anything faster than I ran at Jacksonville- again given the difference in the courses I would consider that a real big jump. I would love to be under 1:06.
First Fork in the Road
At this point I will assess my fitness and how training has gone and pick a path for my spring racing season. If I have been able to successfully complete one or two 40k fundamental paced tempo runs without losing coordination I will likely focus on a marathon- most likely grandma's. If I have not been able to get through a long run like that I will select a series of 5k to half marathon races. Likely targeting a track 10k in May(New Balance Boston High Performance), a 5k in June(again high performance) and probably Garry Bjorkland half marathon. However which races I select could change depending on how fast I am racing and working out at this point.
Second Fork in the Road
After the spring season I will select my fall cycle. Again a marathon attempt will be based on the ability to complete a 40k fundamental tempo and or how the spring marathon went. If I'm not doing a fall marathon I would like to do a half marathon for sure, preferably some place fast and flat perhaps Monumental ?
As I said above I will be doing Cow Harbor for sure. In fact if I find I'm not ready to go after a marathon I will likely make it the focus of my summer training. But marathon or not I'll be here and ready to go.
Other for sure races or nearly for sure would be the Great Bay 5k, local race that I love, very low key. This year I would also like to run the USATF club xc championship. I ran in way back in 2005 and ran quite poorly. I'd like to do better this time around.
Depending on which one I targeted a fall marathon might change those last few races but I'd likely try to do them regardless.
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