Marathon Goals

It's hard to believe that the San Diego RnR Marathon is less than a week away. I've been eyeing this day for a full year now; a chance for redemption and to truly "run" the race and not just complete it. After surviving the race a year ago, I vowed to never submit myself to this kind of torture again. This promise lasted about 24 hours as my thoughts quickly turned to going back and gaining redemption for myself AND preparing for the race properly and running it the way it was supposed to be run. So the grand plan was formulated:

• Take the summer off to recover and heal with lots of swimming and a few runs here and there
• Use the fall to build up a good mileage base of 30-40 miles/week
• Train for the SD RnR using the Pfitz 18/55 plan

I've never worked for something this hard and this long before. It seems kind of unfair that it all comes down to one day: either my legs show up or I blow up. And then it's back to the drawing board. Now I do realize that I put myself in this predicament given that there are many races to choose from during the year and I only chose to race once. But that's the way I wanted it and after this Sunday, I'll reflect on the process and create a new plan and vision for my running.

For now, it all comes down to Sunday. Here are my A,B,C goals for the race:

• Goal A: 3:50 - this translates to an 8:45/pace. I've been training at that pace for the last few weeks and I don't think I'm quite comfortable at that pace for 20+ miles, but who knows how things will pan out on Sunday.

• Goal B: Sub 4 - 9:09/pace. This has been my major focus since the day after my first marathon blow-up. I feel like this pace is realistic given my training run paces and I feel pretty good about achieving this goal. I'd be lying if I said that I wouldn't be extremely disappointed if I didn't hit this goal.

• Goal C: New PR. A PR is always a PR and that's worth celebrating even though my current PR is 4:40.

As for the week ahead, I still have a few runs left including a 12 miler tomorrow in my "dress rehearsal" gear, I'm hoping to get lots of rest (getting to bed around 10 p.m.), and planning to eat sensibly.

For those that have the day off tomorrow, enjoy the time off and to everyone else, have a great week!