Saturday, January 14, 2012

Here I go again...





 Anyone who has been on Facebook regularly has noticed that I have been doing some awfully long runs on the weekends.  I have been training for a marathon, Surf City in Huntington Beach on February 5.  Again.  I get a little nervous saying that out loud.  Why?  Because last year when I was training for the exact same marathon,  I ended up with a stress fracture in my hip, preventing me from running for over 4 months.  It happened one week after I bought my plane ticket.  So what have I done different this time?  I haven't bought a plane ticket!!  No way.  I am driving down.  I have even been reluctant to blog about it, for fear of something bad happening.

So why now?  Because I just finished running my last 20 mile run and am now in official taper mode (which I find more painful than the 20 mile runs.  Weird, I know.)!!   I am pumped up and feel great!  I am still a bit nervous about an injury.  Hell, I could fall down the stairs tomorrow, or trip over one of the boys' cleats in the garage at any moment.  Let's just say though that I am cautiously optimistic about my chances of making it to the starting line this time around.

What about my goal time? Up until now I have been saying that my goal is to make it to the starting line.  I feel  I need to move past that now and choose an actual time goal.  My one and only marathon 3 1/2 yrs ago I ran in 4:31, but was injured through most of my training, and injured during the race.  At that time in my running, my PR for a half marathon was about 2:06.  Things are different now.  My recent half marathon time was 1:51.  My long run times/paces have been all over the board.

16 miles @ 9:21 pace
18 miles @ 8:52 pace
20 miles @ 9:05 pace--felt AWFUL at the end and was staggering the last mile
16 miles @ 8:54 pace
20 miles @9:33 pace--felt better, but still wiped out and dry heaving at the end
17 miles @9:08 pace--felt great!!
20.5 miles @ 8:58-- This was my run today.  I felt really good!  I actually felt like I could have kept running.  I didn't throw up at all and chowed down a bag of Cheetos when I got home.

So fellow running buddies--what should I reasonably expect to be able to do?  I am thinking 4 hr 15 min for sure (which is a 9:43 pace).  I am hoping for faster though.  Thoughts?

2 comments:

Katie said...

A very reasonable goal would be to break 4:00. It's definitely doable given your training, and people are always trying to break 4:00 so everyone would be crazy impressed. ;)

You might want to have a few goals. The super happy goal, happy goal, and adaquate goal. Marathons are so dependent on how you feel that day that I like to have more than one goal just in case.

So excited for you! I hope you wake up feeling great that day!

Suzanne said...

My suggestion is to run as fast as you can and enjoy it as much as possible. I agree with Katie's suggestion of tiered goals. I would share only the most attainable with the general public.

No matter your time on the marathon, I will be proud of your finish and giving you a high five. I have loved our overlapping training and cheering for you along the way. Run like the wind!