14 in 2014 – mid year update + training plan

Earlier this year I decided I wanted to complete 14 races in 2014. I knew it was going to be a challenge because 1. I didn’t decide to do that until March 2. That means more than one race in a month and 3. We already had a very full calendar this year.

Now that we are over half way through 2014 (how has that happened???) I wanted to reevaluate where I stand with the 14 in 2014 goal.  So far this year I have run 6 races (after tomorrow it will be 7!!)  That consists of 1 half marathon, 1 10k, and 4 5ks.  There would have been one more 5k on the list, but the whole no stroller thing ruined that one for me.  That mean I have 8 more races I need to complete in order to reach my goal of 14 for the year.  As long as everything goes to plan and I don’t get sick, hurt or the world comes to an end, I will do 14 or more races this year.

Here are my recaps from the 6 races that I have done so far in 2014:

Can’t remember the name of this 5k

Dosta Dash 10k

Run for the nurses Half Marathon

Run the Ridge 5k

Memorial Day 5k

Valdosta 5k

Here is how I hope to complete my goal:

July 19- Jax Tri Series #2 Sprint   <—– TOMORROW!!!  This is my first triathlon since April 2012 so I’m just a little excited/nervous!

Aug 9 – Jax Tri Series #3 Sprint

Aug 16 – XC is Fun 5k <– this was my first post Brice race in 2013 so I want to see how far I’ve come in a year!

Sept 27- Raccoon Mountain Round the Rim 10k  <– This is up in Chattanooga and is the day before Colin’s Ironman.  This will let me check Tennessee off the list of states I’ve done a race in.

Oct 12 – Tri the Rez Olympic Triathlon  <– Colin informed me that this race was cancelled 😦

Oct 11 – GA Power 10K  <– this race just popped up and it’s local so it will be a good replacement!

Oct 18 – Peachtree City Classic 15k

Nov 8- Savannah Rock n Roll Half Marathon

Dec 28 – Jax Bank Half Marathon

Out of the 8 races listed, I’ve only signed up for the two triathlons so far.  The Savannah RnR and the Jax Bank I will definitely be doing, I just haven’t signed up yet.  The races in between are up in the air and might have to be shuffled around a little bit, but I hope to make the ones listed work.  There are plenty of other local 5k’s I can do to reach my goal, just in case I have other conflicts with these races.  I’d love to do an Olympic distance triathlon before the end of the year, we’ll just have to see where we can fit one in.

This leads me into figuring out my training plan for the rest of the year.  Up until now, I  have been focusing more on getting faster and not distance.  Other than that one half marathon I ran, my longest run was 7.5 miles.  There have been a few 6 mile runs but the majority have been 5 miles and under.  This was intentional for a few reasons: 1. I knew my time was limited 2. I didn’t have any distance races coming up and 3. It is summer which means it is hot so running on the treadmill for long distances is boring and it’s too hot to run that long outside.  In the next month my distances will remain short but after that it’s time to start picking up the distance. I will have 6 weeks between my last 5k and my 10k to build up distance, which is plenty of time.  That will allow me to continue work on speed but also increasing my mileage.  For the GA Power 10K I probably will take that as a fun run to get me prepared for the 15k the following weekend.  I ran the Peachtree City Classic 15k last year, so of course I want to improve on my time.  I’m undecided on how I’m going to tackle the Rock n Roll because I do know that the Jax Bank is going to be my “A” race.  There are 6 weeks between the two half marathons which is ample time to recover and get geared up for the next one.

I’m usually pretty bad about making goals and sticking with them so I’m pretty excited that this one is working out!

What are/were your 2014 goals?  How are they going?

How many races have you run so far?  How many do you plan on running?