Do PR's ever Expire?

What a beautiful day it is! The sun is shining, it’s in the upper 70’s, low humidity….such a perfect “happy to be alive day”. On one hand, I was bummed that this perfection was wasted on a Wednesday (10 hours indoors), but then I perked up on the way home, remembering that my training plan (yes, the very very loose plan I’m following) called for a run. Yay! Not only that, a nice L2 (easy) paced run….no time focus, 5-7 miles, no hills, speed, etc. required. Perfect.

7 miles and one hour (give or take) later, I once again fell in love with running.
It doesn’t take much.
Slogging through a few runs in the heat, and then a run on a cool day.
Struggling to hit my paces on a speed workout, then nailing them all.
Doing a long run in the middle of January, when it is 10 degrees out, then doing your first long run in the spring, when it’s 50 degrees out.
And, most pertinent….no runs at all for 8 weeks, then a pain free run. Or any run at all!
Yep, it’s that kind of day. And while I certainly did not set any speed records for this run, I enjoyed every minute of it.
And isn’t that kind of the point?
As I ran along, I (ironically) began to think about PR’s. Now, I know for a fact that I am not in PR mode this year. I accept it. Embrace it, even.
But am I still allowed to own my PR’s? Hmm.
My sprint PR-set back in 2009. My Olympic PR- set back in 2007. My Half Ironman PR- set in 2008. My Ironman PR- set in 2011.
Runs….every PR except 5k (set in 2008….I haven’t run a stand alone 5k since :-P) PR’s for every distance set in 2011.
I would think that I could own all the PR’s within the last 2 years.
But what about my sprint and Olympic PR’s? Now, granted, I haven’t raced an Olympic course other than Keuka since 2007….so clearly, that is not the course for me.

I think I've seen this guy lately....

And as for sprint course….well, the only one I;ve raced since 2006 has been Sodus. In 2009, I set my PR of 1:22. It was one week after my wedding. I was at my lowest weight, stress free, and just coming off my honeymoon (hummina hummina). With no real training that week.
So…..clearly, I need to lose 10 pounds (damn), go on vacation (woohoo) and get re-married. Greg, ignore that last part.
Nah, just kidding. Or maybe I need to try a different course?
The hubs and I get pretty much stuck in a rut. Keuka, Musselman, Sodus, add in a random fourth one.
This year, it’s The Rochester Tri. However, unless magic happens (which, hey, it could!) I don’t see myself going sub 2:50.
So….if I know I can’t realistically pull it off, can I still call it my PR? What about my 12:50 Ironman? No way in he double hockey sticks could I pull that one off.
Unless….I cleaned up my diet. Took some time off from training to give my body a break (maybe a few weeks). Then attacked a 6 month plan with vengeance.
Then, I am reasonably confident, I could PR.
So that’s what I’m going with. I’m keeping my PR’s. With the caveat that 6 months from now, I could mash ‘em.
Until then, I’ll go on my merry way, smelling the flowers, enjoying the sunshine (or raindrops) and going out to play with my friends at the races every once in awhile.

How do you view PR’s?