Where did the summer go? Here we are with the first week of October in the books and staring down 30 days until the marathon. Training has stayed close to schedule for the past 12 weeks. I have missed a few runs at various points for various reasons but I am feeling strong overall. So far my longest effort was a 21 miler. I am scheduled for 18 this weekend and 20 next weekend before starting my taper. With those long runs in the bag and the work that I have put in I am confident that I will have a good day on Saturday, November 7.
At different points in the training cycle I have adjusted my time goal in my mind for the race. I have used online finish time calculators like the one on Greg McMillan's website. I have also used the rule of thumb 1/2 marathon time multiplied by 2 plus 10 minutes. And in the end I used the good old fashioned "I want to break four hours." Thus I have set my goal to run 26.2 miles in a time of 3:58:30. That translates to a pace of 9:06 per mile. McMillan predicts a time of 3:45 and the other method predicts a 3:48. I suspect the final time will be between the 3:58 I am shooting for and 4:10.
Recent workouts have been strong. I ran a 5 miler on Monday and a 7.5 miler on Tuesday at marathon pace which both went well. The remaining runs this week will bring me to about 45 miles and next week I will peak at 52 if all goes well.
The mystique of the marathon is hard to explain. It is both enticing and terrifying. The enticing part is pushing my body to the limit of physical excertion. Challenging myself to put on a pair of shorts, a neon yellow tank top, some 99cent gloves from Menards, and a skull cap and stand in the middle of a pack of people who saw fit to roll out of bed at 4:30 on a Saturday morning and stand in the cold waiting for someone to fire a gun. Going from station to station on the race course and crossing the finish line with that look of joyful anguish. Terrifying for many of the same reasons but mainly because the mind can play tricks on you. What I mean is that the mind can betray the body with what a sales manager of my past called "stinkin' thinkin.'" Try as you might to block them out, sometimes those thoughts creep in. Like say mile 16 when you realize that you have run 16 miles and still have double digits to go. A mantra helps. This training cycle I have been using-- "pace and form." I hope to be lucky enough to keep my mind on other things during the race instead of fatigue, pain, and the like. A great course helps and I think the IMM fits the bill.
Another thing that helps is that I do not run alone. The support of family, friends, fellow runners, and the NF Endurance team is a boost. On race day I will think about all of the NF heroes out there and I will not want to let them down. I will think about my own Anneliese and I will not want to let her down. They will carry me to the finish line.
Thirty days are all that remain.
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