GollyGadget
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2017
- Messages
- 2,116
Spring 2025 Plans
Like a lot of folks after the marathon, I started wondering "now what??". I'm fortunate that my local community has a lot of great races in the spring. Most of them were running registration specials last fall, so I already have 3 races on the calendar.
1. Drake Road Races 10K - This is a kickoff event to the Drake Relays. It's always fun to finish on the track and think of all the pros who will be on the track later that week. It's in late April so the weather usually favors my preference for a cool race. Barring the unexpected, this will be my A race for the season.
2. Des Moines Women's 10K - I have a hard time describing why I like this race but it's definitely something to do with the vibes. They do a great job of creating a fun and supportive environment. Plus the finish is at a local winery and the winners get a free bottle. Not that I've ever won, but it's good to have dreams
. This race is 2 weeks after #1 so my goals will be highly dependent on the outcome of that.
3. Dam to DSM - Another race that I run for the vibes. It's at the very end of May so it's usually quite warm. The course is a unique point to point that starts at a dam 13.1 miles from downtown. The course is net downhill but there are a few challenging uphills. Nothing like Paris though
. I know I'll be tired of training by this point but I didn't want to miss the after party. 
Last but not least, I'll be racing the Grand Blue Mile. This has been my A race the last two years and even though I'm switching focus this year, I couldn't pass it up. It's only $10 and I get a cute bulldog medal. Registration opens up next week so not yet officially on the calendar but pretty close.
After struggling with my self written marathon plan this winter, I wanted something less hands on for the spring. My Garmin has daily suggested workouts and the ability to tailor those to a goal race. As a naturally inquisitive person, I've been wanting to give these a try since I got my watch last May. I read that it wasn't great for marathon training so this is my first real opportunity.
It's also pretty low stakes since my goal is only a 10K and I know I have the endurance for that distance. I would like a new 10K PR and fortunately that should be attainable since my 5K, 10 mile & half marathon PRs all indicate I can run faster than 49:14. But we'll have to see how training and the weather play into that goal.
The training itself has some different workouts than I'm accustomed to and that has me excited. There will be a mix of paces to help me hit what Garmin determines to be the correct variety of anaerobic, low aerobic & high aerobic. It is a little bit weird to not see the whole plan upfront, but I can see the coming week to help with any potential scheduling conflicts. In any case, this should be a fun little experiment. Let's see how it goes!
Like a lot of folks after the marathon, I started wondering "now what??". I'm fortunate that my local community has a lot of great races in the spring. Most of them were running registration specials last fall, so I already have 3 races on the calendar.
1. Drake Road Races 10K - This is a kickoff event to the Drake Relays. It's always fun to finish on the track and think of all the pros who will be on the track later that week. It's in late April so the weather usually favors my preference for a cool race. Barring the unexpected, this will be my A race for the season.
2. Des Moines Women's 10K - I have a hard time describing why I like this race but it's definitely something to do with the vibes. They do a great job of creating a fun and supportive environment. Plus the finish is at a local winery and the winners get a free bottle. Not that I've ever won, but it's good to have dreams
. This race is 2 weeks after #1 so my goals will be highly dependent on the outcome of that. 3. Dam to DSM - Another race that I run for the vibes. It's at the very end of May so it's usually quite warm. The course is a unique point to point that starts at a dam 13.1 miles from downtown. The course is net downhill but there are a few challenging uphills. Nothing like Paris though
. I know I'll be tired of training by this point but I didn't want to miss the after party. Last but not least, I'll be racing the Grand Blue Mile. This has been my A race the last two years and even though I'm switching focus this year, I couldn't pass it up. It's only $10 and I get a cute bulldog medal. Registration opens up next week so not yet officially on the calendar but pretty close.
After struggling with my self written marathon plan this winter, I wanted something less hands on for the spring. My Garmin has daily suggested workouts and the ability to tailor those to a goal race. As a naturally inquisitive person, I've been wanting to give these a try since I got my watch last May. I read that it wasn't great for marathon training so this is my first real opportunity.
It's also pretty low stakes since my goal is only a 10K and I know I have the endurance for that distance. I would like a new 10K PR and fortunately that should be attainable since my 5K, 10 mile & half marathon PRs all indicate I can run faster than 49:14. But we'll have to see how training and the weather play into that goal.
The training itself has some different workouts than I'm accustomed to and that has me excited. There will be a mix of paces to help me hit what Garmin determines to be the correct variety of anaerobic, low aerobic & high aerobic. It is a little bit weird to not see the whole plan upfront, but I can see the coming week to help with any potential scheduling conflicts. In any case, this should be a fun little experiment. Let's see how it goes!
) so I'm not that bothered about what training I'll be doing in 3 or 6 weeks from now. I can see how other personalities would want that but I rarely look out that far even when I do have a finalized plan.
. As I type this, that seems a little ambitious and would beat PR by over a minute. However, I do have recent 5K and HM times that indicate ~48 minute finish time is possible. I guess time will tell 
. I changed my target to use pace instead of HR because I knew there was no way that my HR would change that quickly. Truth be told, I'm not even convinced that Garmin is quick or accurate enough to read my pace in a 10 sec window. Regardless I still gave the workout my full effort. Earned exactly a 0% on execution though 
10 seconds does seem weirdly short - my strides take longer that that. 
♀
I honestly think that living through winter is more difficult now that we spend January in Florida. In the before times, I really didn't know any different. Winter was just a fact of life. Now I'm constantly questioning my life choices that lead me to spending February in Iowa. Why did I do this to myself???
