2012 Running Goals

I have three main goals for 2012: get under 17:00 in the 5K, 36:00 in the 10K, and have a really strong race at Club Nationals Cross Country (I've never cracked the top 100 there so that would be nice). I think those are manageable as long as I continue to train smart and stay injury-free. I feel like I turned a corner this fall and have come to peace with what I can and can't handle as a masters runner now closer to 50 than 40. The heart rate monitor I recently purchased is really helping keep me in check too.

I've started to map out a few races that I'd like to do. Some of them I've done in the past like the Meteor 10K in Michigan (fast certified course) and I'll no doubt run the Bay Days 5 miler on July 4. This year I would like to do the USATF masters 8K in Williamsburg, Virigina in May and Bella and I are planning to visit New Orleans in late February/early March so maybe I'll take advantage of the weather and jump in a race there. Trainingwise I'm approaching this winter a bit differently. I'm not following a strict schedule until March. Right now I want to run 5 days a week with at least 3 of them in the 8-12 range and do an occasional tempo when the weather is decent.