Real David H.

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I’ve been lacking a lot of toughness in my running world for a few years. Aside from four races in four days at the Runner’s World Half Marathon a year ago, I haven’t pushed myself to do anything drastically different. Even at that event, it certainly wasn’t a 100% effort to get it done. 

As I creep back into running after basically no running in the past month, doing a marathon again is strangely at the forefront of my mind, but I want it to really push me. So that’s why I’ve decided to make “America’s Toughest Road Marathon” — the Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke — my next marathon. 

As of this post, it’s a little less than 210 days away. That’s more than enough time to rehab my injury (or shall I say injuries), train, and conquer this beast of a race I have avoided since its inception. 

To get there, though, I need goals. And I need a lot of them.

As I ran 3 miles the other day for the first time in more than a month, I thought of the best way possible to do this — setting up 26 goals and crossing them off as race day approaches on April 22 was something I couldn’t get off my mind. (As for that 0.2 in my title … that little bit of extra is all about CELEBRATING when it’s done…)

I’m having trouble coming up with 26 things right away, which is perfectly fine with me. I want this list to be fluid and not set in stone. Most of what I have come up with right now is very basic — many of them are actually things are things I’d like to cross off the list in Q4 this year. 

Some of these goals are very broad; some will be specific; some will change or become more specific. I also want to stress that these are NOT all running-related — they’re all goals designed to help me get in better overall shape to improve my running. 

And while these are numbered, they are in no particular order right now. That, too, could change as I continue to think about this. “Run a marathon,” for example, will eventually be No. 26.

So here’s what I have for now: 

1. Run 3 miles non stop
2. Run 3 miles at a pace under 10 minutes a mile
3. Run 4 miles nonstop
4. Run for an hour nonstop 
5. Run a 5k race under an 8-minute mile pace
6. Run a 10k at under an 8-minute mile pace
7. Run a half marathon
8. Run hill repeats
9. Do a track workout
10. Do a progressive run 
11. Ride my bike 100 miles in a month
12. Get back to my goal weight range 
13. Hold a plank for 2 minutes straight
14. Hold a plank for 3 minutes 
15. Do 25 consecutive push-ups 
16. Do 50 consecutive push-ups
17. Run a marathon

I’m also very open to any ideas. Please reach out to me in a comment or through Twitter if you have ideas!

Disclaimer: I am receiving a free race entry to the Blue Ridge Marathon as an “official blogger” for the race. Visit blueridgemarathon.com for more information about the race in Roanoke, Virginia, and use code BRMFRIENDS to get 15% off. 

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