Miriam Parkinson

On the 16th May I am planning to run the Great Ocean Road Half-Marathon. The GOR Half-Marathon is actually 23km long (rather than the usual 21.1) so it could more accurately be called the Great Ocean Road 54.5% Marathon and I plan to spend the last 1.9km swearing and shaking my fists at the organisers for prolonging my torture.

When I did my first half-marathon (at the Melbourne Marathon) I was woefully unprepared (I didn’t run for 3 weeks before the race) and very, very slow. This time, I’ve seen the course, I know EXACTLY how far a half-marathon is, and as I couldn’t help but notice that the Great Ocean Road was a little hilly I know that this time I need to train. So, since last week marked 18 weeks until the marathon I have started my training. [Edit: this is the part where I admit that I wrote this first bit on the 21st January and never got around to finishing it]

I have decided to go for the FIRST (Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training) Half-Marathon Training schedule which involves three runs a week as I have no intention of running 5 days a week. The first run is interval training (speed work), the second run is a mid-distance/speed tempo run, and the third is a slower long run. This running schedule is then supported by cross-training and strength work on the non-running days. [Edit: thus ends the bit I wrote on the 21st]

I’ve now been training for this race for 7 weeks or so. I’ve averaged more like 2 runs a week, but I’m still going way better than last time, and on Saturday last week a ran 15km only 10s a km slower than my goal pace despite falling over and smacking my knee once and falling over and spraining my ankle later in the run. It’s early days but I think I’m on track for a goal time of 2hrs 30min on race day.

Wish me luck!

2009 is well and truely over and this occasion calls for a 101 Goals update.

Completed Goals

8. Read 1984 and Animal Farm (2/2)

13. Give blood

14. Attend a family Christmas

16. Cook a 3 course meal for a friend

22. Visit Dad in Canberra

28v2. Run a half-marathon in the melbourne marathon

40. Organise all my files on both computers and ext hard drive (3/3)

41. Own 5 pieces of jewellery that I love (5/5)

42. Remove all ipod tracks I don’t like

51. Go indoor rock climbing

52. Go to Melbourne museum

53. Go to Moonlight cinema

54. Go to the art gallery

55. Organise, prepare food for and go on a picnic

56. See 25 greatest films as voted by IMDB (25/25)

66. Do makeup every morning for a month (30/30)

73. Complete a 4km race

74. Complete an 8km race

75. Do 25 consecutive men’s’ push-ups (best 25/25)

78. Finish in the top 50% in a 4km run

81. Average over 80 in uni classes

82. Do career relevant work

84. Get a high distinction

86. Get above 90% on 5 assignments/tests (5/5)

94. Go to the gold coast to visit Victoria

99. Go overseas

101. See a Cirque Du Soleil show

So that’s 27/101 goals complete. May need to speed up a little!

Goals in Progress

1. Create photo tour of my workspace for blog

4. Upload 250 photos to flickr (139/250)

9. Read 50 non-fiction books (10/50)

• Anais Ninn’s In Favour of the Sensitive Man and Other Essays
• 6 Impossible Things Before Breakfast: The Evolutionary Origins of Belief, Lewis Wolpert
• Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong, Marc Hauser
• The Ghost Map, Steven Johnston
• The Book of Dead Philosophers, Simon Critchley
• The Zookeepers Wife, Diane Ackerman
• 1788, Watkin Tench
• The Stuff of Thought, Steven Pinker
• How to Become a Straight A Student, Cal Newport
• The Brain that Changes Itself, Norman Doidge

11. Read a book by Dostoevesky

17. Give 10 unexpected gifts (2/10)

20. Put all birthdays and anniversaries in my calendar

26. Get new glasses

27. Go to 25 spin classes (6/25)

30. Go to 5 conferences/unconferences (2/5)

33. Do 5 brutal cleanouts of unnecessary clutter (1/5)

43. Sell/give away all clothing that I don’t love

46. Try 50 new recipes (20/50)

47. Watch the sun rise 10 times (2/10)

50. Go camping 5 times (2/5)

58. Write monthly updates of 101 progress (10/33)

59. Maintain a monthly closing balance of $0 on credit card (6/33)

65. Do a weekly review every week for a year (0/52)

67. Dress up at least once a month (5/33)

72. Create blog template

90. Build an emergency fund of 2 months pay

92. Go on a girly trip with my best friend

95. Go to the snow with my sister

22/101 goals in progress. That leaves 52 goals that I haven’t even started…