8 Goals for 2008

1. Qualify for Boston.
2. Run 1000 1800 miles in the calendar year.
3. Break 3 hours in Chicago.
4. Set new PR's in 3 distances other than the marathon.
5. Guide 5 people to enter a race and run a distance longer than they've ever run before.
6. Stay injury free--not "hurt" free. Injury free.
7. Run with others more.
8. Walk to work more days than I drive.

Now, lets break them down:

1. This has GOT to happen this year. If conditions aren't right at a peak event, I'm going to have the intelligence to save the training and go someplace else. But I WILL be toeing the line in Hopkington '09. Because of this I have really trimmed my scheduled events to more speed work. I had been flirting with the idea of running a 50K (part of me still is...stay tuned), but I am really going to focus efforts on a couple half marathons in preparation for Journeys in May, and then a couple more for Chicago in the fall. Depending how this weekend's 27-miler goes, I'll know more about the endurance portion of my baseline.
2. So this one already has changed, based on advice from runners faster than I (in the comments.) I was originally aiming at a 1000 mile year, but that simply isn't enough miles to attain other goals I've listed. I'm officially increasing my goal to 1800 miles in the calendar year. This will allow me to average about 40 miles or more per week during the roughly 30 weeks I'll be training for a marathon (my program is about 16 weeks long) and then drop down to about 20 mile weeks for the remaining 20(ish) weeks in the year. I've never been one to count miles, but I really want to start. I guess this goal is a shout out to the Laminator, who hit his 1000th mile just this past week.
3. This one should be interesting. I think if I can hit the 3 hour barrier, I'd consider the marathon "conquered" in my own mind. This goal is a loooooong way off, but I've already been dealt a couple pocket aces: two guys that want to do it with me.
4. I really like the local events, and this is a way to incorporate them into my speed work. It's a great opportunity to connect with other runners and take part in some pretty cool events and courses around here. Looking at my times, I think my 2 mile, 4 mile, and 10K PR's are a little soft, so I'll be aiming at those.
5. I can honestly say I've gotten both my parents and my wife's parents to take part in a 5K in the past--something they had never even thought of doing. I want to do that for more people. I especially want to get Brock (My NF hero) participating in another 5K. Talk about motivation--if I know he's out there overcoming more than I can ever imagine, I can gut out a 3:10. Boston, afterall, is one of his FAVORITE cities. Oddly enough, he had the opportunity to visit Bahhhston on an NF-related medical trip.
A lot of people talk about getting in shape, but don't know where to start. Hopefully I can provide some leadership, guidance, and some kicks in the butt if needed.
6. Trying to run a sub-3 marathon is going to hurt, no doubt. What I don't want is to get the nagging stuff that cuts me out of a couple weeks of training. This summer it was plantar fasciitis for about 2 weeks. The summer before that it was some lateral meniscus issues. I'm upping the nutrition, I'm taking more rest days, and I'm cross training more. My baseline fitness is leaps and bounds above where it has been in the past, so I'm pretty optimistic about this.
7. I get bored. Simple as that. The accountability alone will help a lot.
8. If I take the shortest route, it's .77 miles to my office. I add in one little block, and it's exactly a mile. I work 5 days a week, and on Wednesdays, because of meetings, I need to drive. That leaves 4 days for me to run/walk 3 times. I'm throwing this goal in there, but we shall see...

My big races for '08 are Journeys and Chicago. I'm going to do at least one half marathon in preparation for those runs, and we'll be doing the Fall 50 again this year, although not in the pairs division--it's less than a week after Chicago. We'll probably be a tam of 4 this year. As I mentioned earlier, I'm still not completely eliminating a february 50K from the radar...but it's really losing steam in the "don't be an idiot--remember goals 1 and 6" part of my brain.

I'm interested to hear your thoughts, so let 'em rip! Any tips? (Nancy, now you can comment :) )