Over the next five years the race will have a different US armed forces themed medal. If you race every year for the next five years, in 2018 you will earn a Joint Chiefs of Staff medal to commemorate your accomplishment.
Neat! I'm a sucker for a series, so obviously I was all over this.
Anyway. The course is similar to the PCRF course, and seems designed for positive splitting with a downhill out/uphill back.
This is the part where I make goals, MAYBE.
A Goal: sub-2:05
9:32 pace - that's what all of my training has been built around. This is a perfect day scenario, and will really depend on the weather for me. It was 100*+ all of last week, and this week barely breaking 70 and cloudy. Right now the forecast says 80* and morning clouds. Yesterday it said 68* and cloudy. The weather is a crapshoot, and the forecast is not to be trusted.
B Goal: PR
My current PR is 2:08:56, from Holiday Half in December (9:50 pace). That was run on tired legs (after a 5k the day before), on a HOT day, on a hilly course. So I feel like I could beat this?
C Goal: Finish and don't quit
The death of me on the PCRF course has always been my brain breaking down at mile 10. The slight uphill at the second half has just worn on me and I quit and start walking. I'd like to not do that.
My training has been 8 weeks, and I never had issues hitting goal paces (until yesterday on a stupid taper run, WHAT), so I feel pretty good about my chances. But it's been awhile since I've tried to race, and since I've been even running regularly, so whooooo knows.
The suspense!!
2. I had a terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE run yesterday. It was cool and cloudy, so I thought I'd take advantage and do my intervals outside. The course I'm running Monday is hilly, so I thought I'd do the intervals on a local bike path that has some underpasses that I call "hills".
The first mile was sluggish, so I tried an extended warm up. The second mile was equally crappy, so I tried an extra half mile with strides. Still awful. Tried a single 400, and the clouds parted, and the sun shone down, and the winds picked up, and I called it quits. Bailed on the bike path, and spent my run home doing "fartleks" on a road - fast for one block, slow the next. So terrible.
I have a THING that makes me hate finishing a run on a partial mile - it's all or nothing for me. This works pretty well when I am not feeling a run and I force myself to ignore the mile click over, because then I have to finish that mile.
Not yesterday. Yesterday I saw a market at 4.5 miles, stopped, bought a soda, and walked home.
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3. I've been stepping up the job hunt intensity lately, because Living the Dream just can't last forever (and neither can my savings, and so far, I have not won the lottery or found a money tree).
One crazy thing that happened earlier this week: I sent my resume off for a position in...
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| source, but literally any picture of this place is so pretty |
I wasn't joking last year when I said I loved it there, and wanted to live there forever. I'd obviously been searching for a job locally, and moving hadn't been something we considered - #1's entrenched in her team, #3's oncologist is here (though that isn't much of a consideration anymore, really) - but this position popped up on my radar, and the pay was great, and I sent my resume. And it's likely a long shot, because professionally, I don't do anything super specialized so I'm sure there are a billion candidates, but just look how pretty!
Anyway, I've been working hard on job hunting, and it's pretty frustrating, but that's to be expected. Job hunting is so weird, because it's a lot of work on the hunter's part - finding jobs, creating relevant and not stupid cover letters, pages of forms even after submitting a resume - and what's the pay off? The reward?
You work.
I'm so excited to hear how your race goes! I always like to set a goal similar to your C goal, gives me something I can realistically aim for.
ReplyDeleteIs that the job in Medford you mentioned on the Tiwtters? Because, have you ever BEEN to medford? It kind of sucks as a city. You should move to Bend, it does not suck at all (my hometown for the first 18 yrs of my life). Sadly the job market kind of does suck all over Oregon. I too am on the job hunt, but unfortunately I hate what I am currently doing, pretty much everything I am qualified for. So each new job I apply for, I am woefully under-qualified. Being a grown up sucks also.
Good luck this weekend! I know how much the weather can affect a PR--so here's to the running gods taking care of that for you.
ReplyDeleteI shall be checking out Medford for you this weekend. I already found the Bear Creek Trail (greenway) that has like 25 miles of running "trails" through a bunch of parks (from Ashland to Medford). It looks amazing.
http://www.bearcreekgreenway.com/Files/BearCreekGreenwayMap2012.pdf
Expect a few twitter photos #heathershouldmovehere
Good luck with your race! That is an awesome idea for a medal series.
ReplyDeleteA built-in positive split for a half sounds awful, but I think you can definitely PR! (Well, as long as it doesn't go back up to 100 degrees... if so, then simply finishing will be a triumph.)
ReplyDeleteWhat you wrote about the irony of the job search is so true. And then once the excitement of the new job wears off, it's likely that you'll start hating the job. (or maybe that's just me) Regardless, I hope you find something good soon!
I have to start job hunting soon. I promised the husband I would go back to work in September when the baby is 1! Uggh! I hate to think about it, but it is something I need to do.
ReplyDeletehave a great race!!! come up with a few good mantras and stay out of your head. :) oregon...sounds amazing. Can't wait to check that state off.
ReplyDeleteOregon is totally beautiful though I have only been in the summer when it isn't raining much. So I don't know how I would deal with so much overcast-ness during the rest of the year.
ReplyDeleteHave a good race Monday - eff those positive split courses!