I strongly considered letting this one fly under the radar and not writing a goals post. But, goals are motivating and knowing I posted this on Blogger, Facebook, and DailyMile might just motivate in those double digit miles, especially the ones with 2 in front of them:)So what are reasonable goals for a race for which I am sub-optimally trained, occurring just 4 months after a massive marathon PR? I think low expectations are in order here. Long runs were severely lacking. I did 16 on 3/28, 18 on 5/2 and 14 on 5/9. Not ideal, huh?
I'm not mad at myself for my lack of long runs. I'm not sad that sub-4:15 isn't realistic for my Spring marathon as originally planned. Life just got in the way. I have a hard, time-consuming job that doesn't allow me to both prepare for marathons and have anything else going on at all in my life. So for the very few days when I had an hour or two of free time, I saw family and friends. That's more important. One day I hope I have time for all of the above: wor
k, family, friends AND distance running. That time isn't now.But I made a decision to go ahead and run Rockford and Madison anyway. I'm hoping if I go slow enough, they won't suck too much!
Last year, I did the Rockford 1/2 and it was a big PR for me (see Adam and I right). This year my goals are much lower key:
C goal: Have fun! At least until the last 6 miles. I've never found those to be particularly fun;) I enjoyed my 18 miler a few weeks ago. I hope I enjoy this race as much as I did that training run.
B goal: Avoid a PW (personal worst). I think this is realistic. Despite the lack of long runs, I MUST be in better shape than when I first started running in 2006. Right? RIGHT?? I really hope so!
A goal: If the running gods align, and I'm feeling great, I'd love to shoot for a sub-4:30. This would be my 2nd fastest time. But I won't be sad if this is an impossibility.
So that's it. The weather looks favorable (b/t 40-50) though rain may be a factor. I have family kind enough to spectate (though I will not blame them if they don't come out if it rains!) I look forward to delicious carbo-loading w/ the fam tomorrow night, including wine. Yummy.
Good luck to all the racers this weekend! May you have fun even if your 'A' goals are out of reach:)
No worries about the goals... good luck tomorrow! I should take the same approach. My "C" goal is to have fun and finish unscathed, hopefully inspired to train again. "B" would be to come in around 4:30 (like you!), and "A" would be to PR. =) Have fun!
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