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The older I get the better I was... but after many years of idle burrowing the candle of desire is still burning and I have come to realise that running is as much a part of me as my heart and lungs... In Christmas 2008 I was 82kg and was not running a step..This is my journey , the journey of the wombat...Dogged...determined...persistent...and maybe a little grumpy.. but like the wombat my journey is territorial, its about running and I am going to work to protect it...Come along for the ride and see if I can become the wombat warrior. 2009 was a mixed bag for the wombat's journey.A top ten placing in both the Bridges and the City Surf brought a small sense of achievement but also a degree of frustration.... I think I can do better and better I will in 2010. A better run in the Busso Half iron man in support of TV in his swim and bike ride and that was about the extent of my racing. Lets see what happens in 2010 as "My journey Continues". Now in 2011 the wombat will continue his journey, but not alone the wombat has a youngling who knows how to dig. 2015 and its a new beginning , time goes on and the journey to the 2016 World Masters is under way.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Goal Setting ...

Running or rather running fast can be a science. While the wombat (me) argues that it is a simple sport and as such does not require a great deal of thought, there is still a degree of mathematics involved....

I will share a goal with you and in doing so try and explain the science/ mathematics involved.

A goal that the wombat warrior has set for 2011 is to finish in the top ten of the Perth City to Surf. This goal is a public goal, once shared there is/ may be, an increase of pressure on myself in terms that I have now made it public I am being held accountable by everyone who reads this. This could also be considered a safe goal. I am not prepared to share the personal goal which falls somewhere within the top ten goal.

Okay lets now break it down. At the present time if I stepped on the track this would not be possible. Why ? well at the moment I am averaging a 6.30 - 7.10 minute per mile pace. (4m20s km) This puts me in the 52 - 55minute range for the 12km race. This means I am not going to finish in the top ten. I know, having won the event 11 times that to win it if you can run between 35min 50 sec and 37minutes then you can pretty much guarantee the win.

To get into the top ten I need to be running on my easy runs , comfortably , 3min 30s per km. There for this becomes a goal of my training runs. If I can get comfortable at this pace I know that I can guarantee a top ten finish. Am I a long way off at this stage,? Yes... Do I have plenty of time to get there ? Yes...

So where to now for the wombat in terms of this goal. Okay initially I am aiming to get very comfortable on a 2hr to 2 and a half hour run for the Sunday long run. I am aiming to get a solid tempo run of at least an hour where I occasionally hit 4m55s / mile.

For anyone setting a goal in terms of times or places they need to know the time that they have to achieve to get there. After that it is a small mater of mathematics. This established the pace you have to be comfortable at to get there. Is it possible? Well only you can answer that but if you plan and set out a series of steps to get there , along with patience anything is possible...

Barrel on Wombats
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