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| Strong legs help me set a PR in the Huntsville Half. Photo by Brandy Titsworth |
The Old PRs
I'm 34 now, and until this year, all of my PRs were from before I had kids. Most were from around eight years ago. I had more time to run and not as many responsibilities back then. I was okay with the fact that my PRs were older. And those old times seemed really fast to me...up until last year. Last year, I finally decided to try to tackle the PRs.
As my racing times got down close to my old times, I started really learning my PRs (yes, for a long time I didn't know them offhand). I started memorizing them and knowing what pace per mile each event was. I studied how to convert one distance's time to another. I started reading about my old PRs races (the ones that I remembered, like this one). And I started training to beat those times.
The person I was competing with was my younger self. With this, I experienced the joy of quite a challenging task. I enjoyed "racing" against a younger women who hadn't had two kids---ME!
I set out to tackle the marathon first because I was doing a lot of those, and I was seeing a steady improvement of my times (with four marathons, I saw a steady decline of just over 20 minutes). By November 2010, I had entered the 3:20s again in the marathon (albeit a 3:29!). I had read about my old marathon splits ad nauseam by this point. Still, my old PR (3:21:54) from the Rock 'N' Roll San Diego still seemed fast to me. If you've run many marathons, you know that eight minutes can be A LOT in a marathon. Yet I knew how I approached the marathon. I knew about my tendency to start fast and then slow down. I knew I could follow that approach again and be successful. It took Myrtle Beach's flat course after my yearly 50K (and its training) to get me to the 3:18:05 (little did I know I would break that new PR just eight months later!).
With that one time, it was as though anything was possible for me. I began what became the best year of running that I've had in my "career." I went on to target and then attack the 5K (new PR set at the Firecracker 5K in July 2011) and the half marathon (new PR set at the Huntsville Half in November 2011). Between those two, I PRed again in the marathon with a 3:15:33 in Chicago, proving to myself that my 3:18 was no "fluke."
Lessons Learned
People have asked me, "What's next?" and honestly I don't know. I guess a small goal would be to break that tough 10K PR. But then what? A 3:10 marathon? A 19:30 5K?
For now, on the eve of Thanksgiving, I think it is appropriate to just take a moment to be thankful for this year of running, one that may likely be the best year I will ever have. Not many people can smash through 3 eight year old PRs in one year. I know that. I know that I will probably never experience a "comeback" like that again. And I know that the comeback was in part thanks to the regularity of my running with my morning running group. They are the real reason I am thankful. Running with them may have helped those times to come, but it is the friendships I have that mean so much more to me. Yes, I am so thankful that I got to experience the thrill of beating my younger self. But so much has happened in the past eight years. So much life. It's made me realize how silly caring about these PRs can be. Yet a piece of me still takes pride in the toughness, determination, and persistence that made them a reality.
The Targets (My Old PRs)
5K
Spirit of Halloween 5K October 2003 20:01 (26 years old)
*
Half Marathon
Huntsville Half November 2004 1:34:51 (27 years old)
*
Marathon
Rock 'N' Roll San Diego June 2003 3:21:54 (25 years old)
The person I was competing with was my younger self. With this, I experienced the joy of quite a challenging task. I enjoyed "racing" against a younger women who hadn't had two kids---ME!
I set out to tackle the marathon first because I was doing a lot of those, and I was seeing a steady improvement of my times (with four marathons, I saw a steady decline of just over 20 minutes). By November 2010, I had entered the 3:20s again in the marathon (albeit a 3:29!). I had read about my old marathon splits ad nauseam by this point. Still, my old PR (3:21:54) from the Rock 'N' Roll San Diego still seemed fast to me. If you've run many marathons, you know that eight minutes can be A LOT in a marathon. Yet I knew how I approached the marathon. I knew about my tendency to start fast and then slow down. I knew I could follow that approach again and be successful. It took Myrtle Beach's flat course after my yearly 50K (and its training) to get me to the 3:18:05 (little did I know I would break that new PR just eight months later!).
With that one time, it was as though anything was possible for me. I began what became the best year of running that I've had in my "career." I went on to target and then attack the 5K (new PR set at the Firecracker 5K in July 2011) and the half marathon (new PR set at the Huntsville Half in November 2011). Between those two, I PRed again in the marathon with a 3:15:33 in Chicago, proving to myself that my 3:18 was no "fluke."
Lessons Learned
People have asked me, "What's next?" and honestly I don't know. I guess a small goal would be to break that tough 10K PR. But then what? A 3:10 marathon? A 19:30 5K?
For now, on the eve of Thanksgiving, I think it is appropriate to just take a moment to be thankful for this year of running, one that may likely be the best year I will ever have. Not many people can smash through 3 eight year old PRs in one year. I know that. I know that I will probably never experience a "comeback" like that again. And I know that the comeback was in part thanks to the regularity of my running with my morning running group. They are the real reason I am thankful. Running with them may have helped those times to come, but it is the friendships I have that mean so much more to me. Yes, I am so thankful that I got to experience the thrill of beating my younger self. But so much has happened in the past eight years. So much life. It's made me realize how silly caring about these PRs can be. Yet a piece of me still takes pride in the toughness, determination, and persistence that made them a reality.
New PRs
5K
Firecracker 5K July 2011 19:55 (33 years old)
*
*
Half Marathon
Huntsville Half November 2011 1:30:53 (34 years old)
*
Marathon
Chicago Marathon October 2011 3:15:33 (34 years old)
*
Marathon
Chicago Marathon October 2011 3:15:33 (34 years old)
Wow, I'm really impressed! Those are great times.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. My 3rd child is about to turn 3 and I am ready to start focusing on beating my younger self. Thank you for laying out a plan.
ReplyDelete