Week 3 Preview
Standards & Benchmarks (AUG 15-21, 2022)
In the military we had standards for almost everything. At every step of any military career, there are standards you must meet or exceed. Failing to meet these standards could be detrimental to your career and can result in catastrophic failure on the battlefield. Meeting the standard was expected, exceeding the standard was a rarity, failing to meet the standard was unacceptable.
Respect, Trust, Medals, Badges and Promotions were all earned and never given. I find a parallel of that mentality in the running community. Your PR is earned, never given. If you want to run your first 5K, 10-miler, Half or Full, you must earn it for yourself. Nobody can give you the results you want. It can only be earned.
How does all of this juxtapose to running? During my career (1999-2012) there were multiple standards in running that I still consider to this day as obtainable benchmarks that I should strive to meet for as long as possible.
Running Standards:
2 miles in 12’59” or less. This would max-out points on the APFT.
4 miles in 36’00” or less. No stopping. (9’00” mi avg)
5 miles in 40’00” or less. A common “Ranger” standard. (8’00” mi avg)
10 miles in 90 minutes or less. (9’00” mi avg)
Tuesday is National Airborne Day! I will be doing my best to meet the “Airborne Standard” of 4 miles in 36’00” or less. Hopefully I can get this done with a friend or two. We’ll see how it shakes out!
What are some running standards that you have in your life? Comment below.
Training Runs
Run 1: 50 minutes running for distance.
Run 2: 1-mile warmup followed by 5x Hill Repeats. It’s going to suck.
Run 3: 10K Run with negative splits. (Every mile will be faster than the last)
Long Run: Run 10-miles non-stop.
Fitting it all in
If you’ve read my earlier posts, then you are aware that I am an extremely busy person. Most of my days are full of meetings and obligations and this coming week is no different. In addition to my Marathon training, I work full time, own a small business, am a Full Time Father and Husband, volunteer with my Run Club and stay current with my friends who are facing incredible hardships.
This week has me traveling from Arkansas back to North Carolina. Once I’m back home I’ll be traversing the state from Wednesday through Friday and getting back home just in time for my long run this weekend.
I’m looking forward to running with my friends again and continuing to see how much I improve this week.
Running Standard that I’m chasing:
5K in 19’59” or less (break 20)