Here I sit in the middle of January, and I still haven't nailed down big goals with regards to running for 2022. I've been mulling it over for weeks. I think the conclusion I've come to is that I want to focus on quality vs. quantity, which is weird, since I strive to do ultra-distance events. I'm coming into 2022, injury-free, feeling strong. I've been able to maintain a weekly strength-training regimen and the regular rock-climbing has also made me feel stronger overall.
I guess I should at least take a quick stab at goals, so here I go:
Continue to get stronger to make myself a stronger runner. For many years now, I keep telling myself that I need to get to a point where I can do real push-ups and pull-ups. For now, my goal is to eek out 1 real pull-up sometime this year. I think it's doable. I bought a pull-up bar for the house last weekend and some HEAVY DUTY resistance bands to help me doing assisted pull-ups to start with. I wonder how long it'll take me to do one without any help from the bands.
Be intentional about running. I am trying to go out with intention each time I commit to going out for a run. This will also mean adding a structured workout at least once a week so that I can work on speed or hills or both. I also need to try to make my easy runs super easy. I think that lately I have fallen into running just comfy on my easy runs, but that's not truly an easy pace. I need to commit to running for a set amount of time and not pay attention to mileage as much on those easy runs.
Getting into the OCC of the UTMB series. This one I have no control over, but I did put in for the lottery for OCC. This would be my goal race of the year if I got in. Not only would it be awesome to race in the mountains of Switzerland and France, but it would be so amazing to spend time in Chamonix and take in the whole UTMB race experience. The race itself is a mountainous 50ishK, so not huge on miles, but layer on over 10,000 ft of vertical gain and it would be quite the challenge.
A fun but challenging race that is part of a solo adventure. Fingers crossed that Omicron calms down by the end of March. I'm in the process of planning a solo trip out to Moab, UT. I signed up for the Behind the Rocks 30K race and I also plan to rock climb and hike at Arches while I'm out there.
??? Right now, I'm having a hard time seeing past the spring. I can't decide if I want to attempt a longer distance like a 100K, or just maybe find a couple more fun 50K races to jump into for the fall or winter. I love the idea of a winter race out in Arizona or a fall race in Colorado, but I think if I do end up honing in on a 100K, then a lot of my training will revolve around this race. I think I will need at least 5-6 months to prepare.
Mileage-wise, I don't really have goal. I think I might actually end up running less miles than last year. I guess it depends on whether or not I commit to a 100K race. I do want to get faster. My goals are not to PR any kind of road races, but just to get stronger and faster in general so that I can feel confidently in the middle of the pack with trail adventures/races. All this being said, I also want to make sure that I continue to take care of myself and stay injury-free. I've started off the year paying attention my nutrition and getting in as many whole foods as possible. I've also made sure that I'm sleeping enough.
Stress level is the only wild card for this year. I'm considering some changes so I'm sure there will be a lot of ups and downs. Running consistently will for sure help keep me sane.
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