These are the formal BB10K race photos. A 10K doesn’t require recovery like a marathon, so I got in some decent training this week, including a 20 miler today. I’m starting back up my weekend 20 milers.

I like how my training for the Colorado Marathon worked out, with strength training twice a week that kept me from running every day. I think strength training and not running back-to-back days as much is a good fit for training at my age. When I did run though, they were 10 and 12 milers, and 20 miles on most Saturdays. I’ll stick with that formula training for the Boulder Rez Marathon on August 15th.

I won’t be dieting anymore. That was pretty hard to do with intense training. I’m trending down towards 160 and that will be a great racing weight. Per medical charts, I could go as low as 126 before being under weight, but those charts don’t take everything into consideration. I’m medium boned with broad shoulders. I’ll never be the lowest weight runner at the starting line. In college, I ranged between 145 and 155. I might have been more competitive at 135, but I discovered the joy of beer in college.

What will be new to my regimen will be running faster. I feel like that 10K unlocked some speed. I don’t need to run faster to enjoy running, but I like it when I’m in shape enough to run faster. And there’s a part of me, the delusional part, that thinks I can run my fastest marathon ever. That would be 3:08 when I was 18. The best athletes are delusional.

I registered for 4 marathons this year, one each season, with the goal of qualifying for Boston. I figured I would improve each race and be fast enough to qualify by late September in my 4th attempt. No one was more surprised than me when I qualified in my second attempt, so now my goal has changed. Now my goal is to run even faster.

I probably can’t run much faster in my August race – too hot. Maintaining my 8 minute pace will be a win there. But I’m hoping to run under 3:30 for the Boulder Marathon. Winning my age would be nice too. Next will be the Austin Marathon in February. The goal there will be to run even further under 3:30, and maybe finish in the top 3 for my age. By Boston, I’ll target 3:08 which might place me in the top 50 for my age. Sort of a long term plan, but it should keep me out of trouble.