I've been thinking about Hartford and all the ways I can improve my performance. The list below is what I think I need to work on to do so and as a double benefit some even improve my lifestyle as well.
- Hill Strength. I definitely need to improve my hill strength for Boston. I'm not weak on hills (for proof please see the Cape Ann race report), but I will need to be extra strong on them given the challenge of the Boston course on the Newton Hills. My coach and I will be working on this during my training plan.
- Endurance at Race Pace. I'd like to see my endurance at race pace improve because I really felt like I was loosing it in the later miles of Hartford. With improved endurance at race pace I really think I will have more confidence in the last 10K of the marathon. My coach and I will also be working on this during my training plan.
- Decrease Body Fat. I don't think I'm fat. I don't think I'm overweight. I do think that I'm carrying extra body fat though. I will not post any of those numbers here because well, you don't ask women those questions so I won't say those answers. With less body fat, I will be stronger and may be lighter on my feet and thus might be able to move faster. The main thing here is that I won't have to spend so much extra energy carrying around unnecessary extra weight. I believe I can decrease my body fat by improving my nutrition and adding strength training to my routine.
- More Efficient Water Stops. I had a hydration plan and I did stick to it for Hartford, but I would like to see myself move better through the water stops. I'm not sure how I should try to improve this exactly, but it is something I'd like to do better.
- Mental Focus. I really think I lost my mental focus in the last miles, which I suppose is bound to happen in a marathon, but as a yoga teacher and practitioner I was disappointed that I was able to lose that mental focus. I would like to better mentally prepare for my next race. I think I can do this by adding more meditation into the last phase of training.
- Strength Training. I know I'm supposed to strength train and I do. However, I only do legs and only when my coach says to. I don't do my upper body stuff and I rarely do my core. I am really lazy in this sense. I would like to see myself improve here by doing core work 4 times per week and upper body 2 times per week.
I'm sure there are other aspects of my running I would like to improve, but this is my list for now.
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