I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever made a New Year\u2019s resolution. However, since I don\u2019t race very often between late November and early March (four times in that span in the last eight years), recently I have found myself setting up loose racing and training plans in the December\/January time block. It’s possible I outline my running year during that time frame because I have better perspective when I\u2019m not in the middle of race preparation or higher-mileage training, where recent performances may unduly affect decision-making. I can look at how things have played out in the past, adjusting for anomalies, and strategize a little better. Also, since this is the time of year where we\u2019re starting to make more firm plans around summer and the kids\u2019 camps, it allows me to factor in the races to whatever else we\u2019re doing.
By the end of this past year, I noticed that my finishing times tended to be faster in the fall. With that in mind, I have penciled in a couple of 10Ks for the spring, with a handful of 5Ks and shorter track events for the summer that I\u2019ll train through, meaning race with no taper. I can then scout out a couple of flat, fast 5Ks for the fall in the hopes of hitting fast times. In theory, these would come after a stretch of higher mileage with speed work, and then an appropriate taper.
Of course, I stay open to unexpected possibilities. The Mile High Mile this past summer is one example of taking on something not in the plans at the last minute. So was the 5K I ran in Evans, CO in the spring. However, both of those were within, or close enough to, my overall plans that I knew they wouldn\u2019t throw me off too much. Taking on something unexpected that\u2019s far out of the range, especially something that involves long miles, may not be wise to do. I was briefly tempted to try the Cheyenne Marathon last fall on super-short training but wisely backed off. I mention that partly to illustrate that it can be very alluring to try something different on a whim but that keeping perspective is valuable.
Good luck as you embark on your 2023 running. If you do have a period of time during the year with less racing or intense running miles, it may be a good time to outline what you want to do for your race calendar, or for your running in general.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever made a New Year\u2019s resolution. However, since I don\u2019t race very often between late November and early March (four times in that span in the last eight years), recently I have found myself setting up loose racing and training plans in the December\/January time block. It’s possible I outline my … <\/p>\n