Wednesday, April 18, 2007

My Plan for this Year....

This year has been pretty erratic with my running. Trying to get used to my early work hours has been challenging for me and has affected my running. I am not going to make it to do Ice Age 50K--I haven't been able to get a long run beyond 15 miles in. Well, I think I"ve finally got it going steadily again, but I've made a big decision. I'm hiring a coach!

I've been pretty conservative with my running. Like many of my constant readers know, the girlfriend I ran my first marathon with got a pelvic fracture during that race and to this day has not been able to run. That and hearing about the many injuries that runners succomb to has made me ever so careful with my running. Though I must say I've always enjoyed myself, but I've always held myself back. I've hardly done any speed training.

So I went and asked Lisa Smith-Batchen - Endurance Athlete & Personal Coach to coach me through the rest of the year.....right into my first 50-miler Rocky Raccoon---and she said YES!!

I told her my goals were to run a 5-hour Chicago Marathon (last year was my PB at 5:14) and to just finish Rocky Raccoon. She said she could absolutely help me obtain those goals. Oh boy.....I must admit I'm scared but also verrrrry excited. She said last year she helped 20 of her clients achieve this goal and they had a big dinner there the night before. Wow---how amazing does that sound??!!

So this is my 50th birthday gift to myself--wanna come and help me celebrate???

18 comments:

MNFirefly said...

(I'm first..whoohoo!) That's awesome, Lora! I bet you feel so honored to have such an awesome couch.

MNFirefly said...

Oooooppps...I mean coach. (Damn laptop!)

Jack said...

What that's exciting, I can't wait to follow your journey to the finish line.

Unknown said...

Hey Lora, that's a wonderful birthday gift that you could possibly gift yourself! Wish I had a chance too running a long marathon sometime in the future. Good luck1

runliarun said...

It's going to be a big adventure. It's cool to have personalized training.

Travis said...

its always good to have a plan and have someone that will help you through it. Not running Ice Age, that's too bad, but this darn life gets in the way of running sometimes :) Are you going to man any aid stations like you did last year? I'm going to be out there and would love to say hi!!

JeffM said...

That's very cool- professional help- can't beat that!

Jessica DeLine said...

That is awesome! I want a running couch (I mean coach ;) Like that!

Deb said...

I couldn't think of a better present to yourself! You're one of the best looking 50 year olds out there!!! Do us proud!! ;)

RunBubbaRun said...

That's a pretty awesome coach...

To bad to hear about ICE AGE. I was hoping to meet another newbie ultra seeker from the Chi-town area..

Good luck with your goals..

Unknown said...

That's awesome that you have her coaching you. I think it will be a huge benefit to have that kind of wisdom guiding your running decisions. Good Luck!

E-Speed said...

As well as you have done on your own I have no doubt the coach will bring even more improvements and hopefully you will arrive healthy and fitter than ever at your first 50 miler!

Una said...

Oh this is so great!! I had an awesome coach, who's now uber famous (he's one of the three who ran across the Sahara and will be featured in a Matt Damon produced documentary this fall).

I was falling apart at the time, so I did my own thing, and he became a god.

You are going to do amazing! I hope you have the time to post about your training.

And I agree, you don't look even close to 50! Not that there's anything wrong with that.

MNFirefly said...

How's the training coming?

Ryan said...

Hope things are going well! A plan is a great start, don't rush a good thing RIGHT!

Happy very belated birthday sorry I've been out of the loop for awhile = )

Cheers

Lisa Smith-Batchen said...

Great to see training is going well! I am so glad you have already met up
with some other Dreamchasers. We really are one big happy family! So much
to celebrate...your first yoga class, trying the heel inserts, etc! Keep up
the great work - I am really excited to be coaching you!!! Lisa

Colleen said...

Hi Lora...I train with Lisa, too! I also have the good fortune to work for Lisa and her husband, Jay. I have worked with other teams and coaches in the past, but I have never seen results like I have from working with Lisa over the past year. She inspires me by her words and her example. And not to mention the achievements of her other clients. I noticed one of your other comments was left by someone who worked with Ray Zahab. Ray's crossing of Africa is absolutely remarkable. And I'm sure he may have called upon the lessons he learned from Lisa...Lisa coached Ray for 2 years! I hope to make it to Rocky Raccoon again in 2008 - so I look forward to meeting you there, if not sooner! Best, Colleen

sherpajohn said...

Lisa is coming to Vermont next month to talk at a 50 Mile race we're putting on. Maybe you can come out and give the race a whirl! Race Director Andy Weinberg is from Illinois (McNaughton) and is putting the race on. Think about it!

SJ