New Year's Running Resolutions

In 2011, I got back into running, and in particular, I started participating in organized runs with a length of 5K. I'd like to continue that into 2012, and I have some set goals in mind for what I'd like to do.

But first, a review of my runs and results from 2011. I participated in six 5Ks, and here are the race result "badges" I created for myself:













My peak performances were in October with a compariable result in November. My December time fell off a bit partly due to lack of training and weight gain. I'm going to deal with the weight issue in 2012, so hopefully it won't be a factor. Lack of training was largely due to weekend trips out of town. I'm not going to eliminate those, but if possible, I'll try to get some running done while away from home.

So with no further adiou, here are my running goals for 2012.

1. Participate in 12 organized runs of at least 5K
I averaged a race per month in the second half of 2011, and I'd like to continue that trend in 2012. The year will get off to a slow start as I don't think I'm going to make an event in January. Shouldn't be a problem to double up later in the year when the weather is better.

2. Lower my 5K Personal Record to below 27 minutes
Frankly I'd just be happy to lower my 5K PR, but getting under 27 minutes would put me at 7 MPH which is a speed that I considered "out of my range" pre-knee injury, and I'm surprised I'm close to hitting it now.

3. Set/Lower my 10K Personal Record to below 62 minutes
Basically, I want to be able to do a 6 MPH 10K. I'm not sure if I'll be focusing more on 5K or 10K this year (I suspect 5K), but I think I 10K time in this range would be a good target for me. I did an unoffical 68:29 around-the-neighborhood 10K the day after Christmas on my first 10K+ run in a few years and then followed that up with a 68:12 10K four days later. I think I can trim a couple minutes just from having more rest and should be able to trim even more as I train for the distance. I tend to run faster at organized events than training, so I think there's a decent chance of achieving this.

4. Increase my "Pace Record" at two or more events
Just in case I decide to focus on 10Ks, I wanted this goal to remain achievable and viable so I went with pace (MPH) versus time. I'd like to think that I could easily defeat my Folsom Firecracker pace at either 5K or 10K.