2:55:00 Or Bust
by Robert James Reese » Friday, February 19th, 2010 » 9 Comments
My first marathon of the year is two days away. We're headed up to Albany in less than an hour. That means it's time to solidify goals. Gulp.
The weather report for Sunday is looking almost perfect. It's supposed to be a high of 37, cloudy, with only a 10% chance of precipitation. Shorts weather. There's some wind, but the course is a series of small loops, so the wind shouldn't be too big of a factor. In other words, I can't blame the weather if I post a shitty time.
There is nothing on the radar as far as injuries. I went for an 11.3 mile run this morning and it was easy as cake. I didn't really even begin to get fatigued and had no joint or muscle pain. That means I can't blame injury or say that my legs weren't fresh enough.
As far as training, there's definitely nothing that can be blamed there. I went back through my logs and compared my training numbers from the time between Philly and tomorrow with the time between Delaware and Philly (the previous training cycle, which led to a 2:57:52 marathon) and found some very interesting trends.
My daily mileage increased by 44% this time around! And, when you consider the fact that this cycle included lots of slow snowy runs and jogs to and from stair workouts (while the previous one did not), the "real" pace actually probably increased or, at the least, stayed flat. So, I can't blame lack of training if things don't go well.
One last indicator: My last half marathon before going into Philadelphia was a 1:31:18 and my personal best to that point was a 1:27:30. A month ago, I ran a 1:23:46. That's a huge improvement. Clearly I can't blame a slump either – one doesn't exist.
Not having anything to hide behind is a little scary. But, then again, it might be just the motivation I need out there in the late miles when it really starts to get tough. And I'm posting all this here as extra incentive not to back down from the struggle.
In the past, I've always come up with a series of graded goals. Not this time – I'll be running this one pass/fail. A 2:55:00, a 6:40/mile pace, or better will count as success. I want that NYCM qualifier.
Time to lay it all on the line and see what happens...
The weather report for Sunday is looking almost perfect. It's supposed to be a high of 37, cloudy, with only a 10% chance of precipitation. Shorts weather. There's some wind, but the course is a series of small loops, so the wind shouldn't be too big of a factor. In other words, I can't blame the weather if I post a shitty time.
There is nothing on the radar as far as injuries. I went for an 11.3 mile run this morning and it was easy as cake. I didn't really even begin to get fatigued and had no joint or muscle pain. That means I can't blame injury or say that my legs weren't fresh enough.
As far as training, there's definitely nothing that can be blamed there. I went back through my logs and compared my training numbers from the time between Philly and tomorrow with the time between Delaware and Philly (the previous training cycle, which led to a 2:57:52 marathon) and found some very interesting trends.
| Dates | Days | Miles | Miles/Day | Avg. Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 23 - Feb. 20 | 90 | 715.2 | 7.95 | 7:43 |
| May 18 - Nov. 21 | 188 | 1036.3 | 5.51 | 7:34 |
My daily mileage increased by 44% this time around! And, when you consider the fact that this cycle included lots of slow snowy runs and jogs to and from stair workouts (while the previous one did not), the "real" pace actually probably increased or, at the least, stayed flat. So, I can't blame lack of training if things don't go well.
One last indicator: My last half marathon before going into Philadelphia was a 1:31:18 and my personal best to that point was a 1:27:30. A month ago, I ran a 1:23:46. That's a huge improvement. Clearly I can't blame a slump either – one doesn't exist.
Not having anything to hide behind is a little scary. But, then again, it might be just the motivation I need out there in the late miles when it really starts to get tough. And I'm posting all this here as extra incentive not to back down from the struggle.
In the past, I've always come up with a series of graded goals. Not this time – I'll be running this one pass/fail. A 2:55:00, a 6:40/mile pace, or better will count as success. I want that NYCM qualifier.
Time to lay it all on the line and see what happens...
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