New exercise goal set

Last week I said that I was going to take a week to figure out exactly what I wanted to do for my next exercise goal. (It’s amazing how posting a blog entry to hundreds of people will help hold oneself accountable.)

Anyway, my goal this time is to complete another 5K, but with a pace of 10:15 or better.  Considering that I shaved a minute off my time between my first and my second races, this might seem like an easy goal to reach. However, I really struggled to reach this last goal, and some things are going to have to change in order to meet this next one:

1. I need to figure out if I’m running correctly or not - something tells me that if someone could watch me run, they could tell me how I’m wasting energy or not making the most of the energy I have.
2. I need to lose some weight - while I’ve done great with my weight loss up to this point, I’ve been stuck for quite a while at the 210-213 range. This is still heavier than I need to be, and definitely heavier than I should be if I want to pick up the pace with my running.
3. I need to learn to wean myself from my tunes - right now I’m using my iPod to help control my pace, and I’m wondering if that might be limiting myself in some way. Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to try running without the iPod, and see if my times improve, stay the same, or get worse.

Since I think this goal is going to be a bit more difficult, I’m going to give myself some extra time to get it done; specifically, I’ve registered for the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K. This is an annual race in downtown Naperville, IL, sponsored by the Naperville Lions Club. That gives me about 6-7 weeks to increase my running time, lose some more weight (I’d like to get to 200 by Thanksgiving), and get the running advice I need to see if at 10:15 pace is even possible.

So everyone reading this - keep me accountable, cheer me on, and ask me how I’m doing if I haven’t posted about it recently.

What are your current goals? How can I support YOU in reaching them?