Tag: marathon

Pre Marathon Thoughts

I have been asked many times what goals I have for tomorrow’s race. Some people have a specific time they are striving to achieve. Others are just trying to finish. My goal for tomorrow is a bit different.

I really don’t have a time goal, though I expect to finish between 4:30 and 5:00 hours. I have trained with the 4:45 time in mind.

And my goal is not just about finishing. I feel well trained without being overtrained. I have completed two runs of 20 miles as well as many long runs leading up to that. I have no thoughts that the distance is unattainable. My body is prepared and very healthy. Mentally I am ready. I have teased about being nervous, but really am not. I am totally confident about being able to cover the distance.

So what is my goal for tomorrow?

To totally enjoy my first marathon. I am not trying to race it. I have no plans to hurt my body in getting across the line in a fast time. But, if I do get through faster than anticipated, or even slower, I plan to have fun with the experience.

I realize that I can never run a 5K race and have it be my first one again. Also, I will probably never go to a 5K and just jog around the course for the experience. I will always be chasing a number. Always trying to beat my previous time.

I have a chance to do something tomorrow on that course that I will never be able to do again. This one is all about the experience.

Shirt: I will be wearing an ASD Athletes shirt for the race.

Week 1

Week 1I started my first week of marathon training on Sunday. It is a 16 week program which should lead me to a 4:30 to 4:45 marathon finish. The Indianapolis Marathon on October 18 is my goal race. This will be my first marathon, and as such I plan to take it easy and have a good time enjoying the run. So even though I am training for a 4:30 finish, I am not going to beat myself up if I don’t make it. That leaves the door wide open in my second marathon to be able to beat my previous best.

This week my training plan says that I need to run 3 miles on Monday at an easy pace. Wednesday is a tempo run of 3 miles at 8:57 per mile with a mile warm up and cool down. Saturday will be a long run of 8 miles.

I am very excited to be back on a training schedule. It has been a year since my last schedule when I was training for a half marathon. To me a schedule is somewhat freeing in that I don’t really have to think about what I am going to run on a particular day. I just look to the paper to give me my guidance. It also lets me know when I can take a break and engage in other activities without jeopardizing my plan.

Get ready for weekly updates as I work through the plan. The end of July and all of August the schedule will be hard to follow exactly as we will be traveling quite a bit, but I have managed to follow a plan the last two years during this time.

Marathon World Record set today

Haile Gebrselassie took first place in the Berlin Marathon today with a time of 2 hours 4 minutes and 26 seconds. This is a world record besting Paul Tergat’s previous world record by 29 seconds (also set in Berlin).

I first heard about Gebrselassie in an episode of Endurance Planet (MP3 file). Haile is 34 years old and set his 25th world record with this win today. He took $71,000 for winning the race and another $71,000 for setting a world record at the marathon.

He was previously a middle distance runner and this is only his 7th marathon attempt. Read more articles about the event.