What have I done?

And what am I doing?

This week's Take It & Run Thursday at the Runner's Lounge provoked some self-examination of what I have accomplished this year and my goals for the rest of the year.

This last year, I haven't been able to much racing because I had to save my money for our trip to Boston back in April, but that it perfectly fine. I would not have traded that experience for any amount of racing. The Boston Marathon was something I have wanted to do since I first started considering running marathons just over 4 years ago. Running that marathon was such an incredible experience. None of my other marathons can come close to comparing. This was definitely the highlight of my year so far. As of right now, there are no other marathon plans in the very near future, but I am looking for a good one to run this winter. If you know of any good ones run on a Saturday in the southwest, please let me know.

After Boston, I didn't really have any plans or other races in mind, but I wanted to work on my speed in the mile. This idea actually started last September when I watched the film Without Limits for the first time. Inspired by the dedication and drive of Steve Prefontaine, I decided I'd like to break 5 minutes in the mile. This summer I have been seriously working on it, and I am getting very close. You can follow my progress in the sidebar of my blog. Just a couple weeks ago, I came across an organized 1 Mile Race in Tucson, AZ at the end of August. I am really looking forward to testing myself against other runners.

With school starting next week, I am looking forward to coaching the cross-country and track teams at the middle school in the district where I work. Now that I have some coaching experience under my belt, I think this year will be a lot better than last year. Hopefully, I'll be able to pass on some of my knowledge and motivate the kids to have a great season (and hopefully, we'll have more kids come out!).

What to expect for the rest of the year:
- A lot of speed work. I will be breaking that 5 minute barrier in the near future. I hope to build up some more endurance with that speed to then improve my 5k and 10k times.
- Increase my mileage as fall approaches. I would really like to train for a marathon this winter and shoot for a PR. Who knows, maybe with the speed I have built up, a sub-3 hour marathon is possible.

I am really looking forward to my future in running. Working on my speed has been a fun change, and it has been very exciting to see the progress I have made. Achieving goals is extremely motivating. I can't wait to see what else I am capable of.