Step Up

(The post date on this blog is Friday the 26th, but I am writing it on the 27th as my "make up blog", just fyi. )

I definitely have some lofty goals this summer in terms of fitness challenges. I've been getting into running more, and my foot/ankle injury is finally around 90-95%, and I feel good. The finale for this season will be completing the Bank Of America Chicago Marathon, yeah-the big one, in October. I have also registered for the Fleet Feet 10 miler out of Soldier Field coming up in May, and I plan also to complete a century bike ride (100 miles), and a triathlon, which will be my biggest challenge. I am very comfy on a bike, and am getting much better with my feet on pavement, but conquering re-learning how to swim and competing will be a great challenge. Nonetheless, I am positive and besides...I can't wait to get all the t-shirts and gear from these events!! You may have some challenges yourself, and I encourage you to work your way up by completing smaller challenges.

For example, regarding my marathon and the running, I'll be doing it in steps. Earlier this week, I registered for the Ravenswood 5k, which is on April 25th. 5k is around 3.2 miles, and I have a goal. If I can complete this run in under 26 minutes, I will qualify for a seeded corral in the 10-miler out of Soldier Field. So today, I started my training for the 5k. I did a "fit test" for this by, yeah, you guessed it...completing a 5k run! My personal goal is to complete the run in under 25 minutes to ensure I will be able to qualify for the 10-miler, and today I officially completed the distance (according to my Nike+ stats) in 25:10!! Awesome! This means I would have already qualified if it was the official run! Now I am going to set my goal in the next few weeks of training to get it down under 20 minutes, which will be challenging but certainly possible. Now, after the 5k run, I will boost up my training for the 10, and then after that, the full marathon. This way, I will be able to train for the full marathon with smaller events, and I encourage you to do the same. Remember, when you commit to a challenge and can supply yourself with a concrete goal, you will know or at least have a much better idea at how to train for it. Plus, you'll end up with some cool t-shirts!! lol!! Thanks for reading everyone, and have a great weekend!

Check out my nike+ stats for this run at: http://go.nike.com/01o3bhb0