Five Year Goals

I made a goal list last year, but it is time to revise or update it after surgery.  I have an off day today, so I figured now was a good time to write them.  Some are more short term, but I think most although difficult are realistic to attain within 5 years.  I've only ever been able to put a full year of training in at a time.  If I can get 5 good years in a row, I can accomplish amazing things.

Stay Healthy

This issue is obviously the biggest thing when it comes to all my race goals.  I still have Crohn's Disease, but I'm hoping I can manage it.  If I can steer clear of any major problems for five years, I can accomplish a lot.

Qualify for the Boston Marathon

Since running my first marathon, this has become my biggest goal.  It is definitely one that is very achievable.  I missed it by about three and a half minutes in my second marathon.  That was after only a year of training.  The standard has now dropped to 3:05 from 3:10, but I still don't think it would be too much of a problem for me to get there.  I was far from my peak after a year.  I also want to hit this goal before I turn 35 and wind up in the easier age bracket.   I don't even care so much about running fast in the race itself.  Just getting there and experiencing Boston is my goal.

Break 3:00, 2:55 and 2:50 in the Marathon

These are stage goals.  I definitely think I can run a marathon under 3 hours within the next five years.  The question just becomes how far I can go.  It will really be tough to tell until I get a good two year or so of consistent training is.  Then I'll have a little bit better idea of what my peak truly is.

Qualify for New York City Marathon

This was already pretty tough and has actually become even more difficult.  Most people enter this race through the lottery, which is much easier to do if you are foreign than American.  If I can't ever get fast enough to qualify, then I'll go that route.  I'd like to automatically make it in on time though.  The standard for qualifying is dropping from 2:55 to 2:45.  I'm fairly confident I could hit 2:55, but 2:45 will be very tough.  I love the challenge though.  I could actually run a 1:19 half marathon.  That might be the easier route, but I'd rather get it with a fast marathon time.

Top 5 Finish at the Blue Eagle 5k

I don't care that much any more for 5k runs or shorter races.  I do them from time to time, but I'm more interested in longer stuff.  That said, this race is very special to me.  It is run at my elementary school and in my parents backyard.  It is put together by my high school track and cross country team, where I got my start.  Obviously, it holds a lot of meaning for me.  I've also run this route or large parts of this route numerous times.  It will be tough to ever win this event with how fast high school kids are, but I think I can at least finish in the Top 5.  It would be a dream come true to win the whole thing.  I might've missed my best running days when I was in my 20s, but I know I still have plenty of good running ahead of me.  Just how much though is the question.

Top 5 Finish at the Quadzilla 15k

I've never run this race, but Trexler Nature Preserve has become my favorite place to run.  The rolling hills are tough and view is spectacular.  By all accounts, the race was well run in its inception last year.  I hope to run it this year, but I'm still on the comeback trail, so it won't be very fast.  Again, this is a race I'd love to win, but it is probably more realistic to shoot for a Top 5.  It is a fast growing event and will probably have a stronger field every year.

Top 25 Finish at the Run for the Diamonds 

This has been my favorite race that I've run to date.  It is a 9 miler in Berwick on Thanksgiving Day.  It is a small town that comes out and supports the race.  It has a long history that dates back to 1908 and in the earlier years regularly included Olympic Marathoners.  It has a steep climb too which is awesome.  You earn a Diamond for a Top 7 finish.  I'm not sure if that is realistic or not for me, but I think finishing in the Top 25 of this 2,000 or so person field is.

Run a Marathon in Slovakia and Big Sur California

These would be my destination races.  My grandfather is from Slovakia so I'd love to go there and run a marathon.  None of them are big races, but running where my family originated is important to me.  The Big Sur Marathon in California would be another one.  Big Sur is the most beautiful place I've ever been and with its breathtaking views, I'd love to run the marathon there.

Train In Colorado and Kenya

Training in Colorado for a few weeks is certainly the more realistic of these two.  Those mountains in Boulder were beautiful and I want to go there again and train for a few weeks.  If I ever moved again it would likely be to Boulder or somewhere in Colorado to train.  I've always been fascinated with Kenya and their great running.  I'd love get over to Iten and train there.  There have been some trips set up to train there, but it can be a little sketchy will the political situation there.  One nice thing is that they are so poor that staying there for awhile would be cheap.  Getting there is another story tough.

Run 100 miles a week

The most miles I ever ran was 60 miles a week.  I don't necessarily want to run 100 miles every week, but I'd like to peak at it in training.  I'd like to get to a point where I consistently train at 80 to 90 miles a week.  For most people it is hard to find that kind of time.  I'm single though and not too busy.  I'm hoping to work at a running store in the coming months and that should still allow me a lot of time to train.  To do this, I'll also need to run twice a day on most days.

Run a 50 mile race

So many people are completing marathons these days, that a distance junkie like myself wants to take the next step.  The big problem with me when it comes to ultrarunning might be the nutrition.  With my Crohn's Disease, it could be hard to fuel properly.  That sure won't keep me from trying.  Now that I have Crohn's that makes me want to do long races even more and prove that I can control the disease.

Run a 100 mile race

Running for 24 hours or more would certainly be tough.  Again, nutrition will play a big role to this goal.  I love trail running and want to do ultras on some tough mountain terrain.  Even though I have some decent speed, I still feel like I bring more endurance to the table than I do speed when I run.  I've always felt like I was stronger with the longer that I've run.

Run a famous 100 mile race

I really would love to run one of the bigger 100 mile races out west.  Western States, Leadville or the Hardrock 100 would be great.  The hardest thing might be getting into the field at one of these events.  Of course qualifying isn't exactly easy either.  I do feel like I'm a good trail runner and could do well in those races.

Run the Entire Pennsylvania Section of the Appalachian Trail

Some people run the entire trail.  I really have no interest in going that far.  I would love to run the entire Pennsylvania section at once.  I would camp and rest nightly along the trail.  It obviously wouldn't be very fast and a true run, but I'd like to cover something around 20-25 miles a day.  With how rocky this section is, it could take awhile.  I believe the trail is something like 250 miles long in this state.  I have the time now to do it, but not the strength.  I also haven't camped on the trail on my own yet either.  Finding time when I get back to working could be tough, but it would be worth taking a vacation for.

Be a Race Director

I'd definitely like to be a race director at some point.  Maybe I'd start out small, but I'd love to be in charge of a unique race at some point.  I know a few people who already have their own races and it seems like fun.  I could get some tips from them.  If I do create my own race it will likely be crazy.  I thought about doing one in Bethlehem that would go up and down South Mountain several times.  It would make the South Mountain 10 miler look easy.  I've also thought about doing a weird distance like maybe a race that was actually 3/4 of marathon distance.  There are plenty of half marathons and full marathons, but usually not much in between.  I think that could be an interesting niche race.

Coaching

I've read so much on running and continue to do so.  I've absorbed a lot and feel I could be a good coach.  I'm always learning and willing to try new things.  I always felt like I could be a good coach.  I might go to the RRCA coaching certification course in the near future.  I'd really love to coach at the high school level, but that might be tough to do without being a teacher.  I think I could do well and would have fun coaching adults too.  I'm just not sure if I could make much money doing it.  Any small supplemental income would be great.  I'd love to coach full time, but part time would certainly work fine.  I just love helping and teaching others about running.

Be Written About in a Magazine

This might be more of a long term goal, but I'd love be written about in Runner's World, Running Times or Trail Running Magazine.  I generally don't care so much about getting attention and often deflect it.  It's more about accomplishing something that's worthy of being written about, whether it be with my running or as coach, than actually have something written about myself.  If I just did something that might be worthy to make one of those magazines, but it never actually made print, that would be good enough.

I have even loftier very long term goals that likely aren't realistic.  If I accomplish most of these on this list, then I might go after those or make some new goals.  For now, this is a difficult enough list as it is.

Now that I've put those out there it will be fun to see how I do and I can also be help accountable.  I just want so badly to have five good years of relatively healthy running.  If that can happen and I don't acheive any of my goals then I really only have myself to blame.  Regardless, I'm hungry and will to put in the time and effort.  I wasted some of my best running years, but I still need to see where running can take me.  Then maybe I can hit 40 years old and back of and just get to enjoying running while cruising along.  With my competitiveness though who knows.