defining success

 It's fun to train for races. The things I prioritize in races are

-are they located close to me?

-do they work with my schedule?

-do I have a chance of winning them?

-are they a distance I want to train for?

I don't particularly like traveling for races. I don't like large races where I'm going to be buried in the pack. I want a local race against good competition with a result that is meaningful to me. Earlier this year I figured out a training schedule that I think will work really well for improving my fitness and keeping me motivated. Roughly, it's

fall- run sub-6 min miles

winter: run A LOT of miles. with long runs and once a week mile repeats

spring: run VO2max workouts with hills

summer: run fast 400s and track meets.

To coincide with each season is a race. In the Fall I want to the Harrisonburg Half Marathon and the Harrisonburg Turkey Trot. In the Winter/Spring my big goal is the Charlottesville 10 miler. In the Spring/Summer my goal is the Bruce Barnes Downhill Mile. And in the summer my goals are the local all-comers track meets. 

I think each race is supported by the training that goes into it and they feel like achievable goals. I know from past experience that I have the potential of competing well in each of these races. That's motivating to me and I'd be really happy to see year over year improvement. 

The half marathon is coming up soon and I'm looking forward to it. The course looks like it's kind of a mess but my training has been going great and I'm excited to compete.