4.16.2006

It's getting easier

ORN: 5.6 miles, 44:18.

Today, I ran the same route that I ran last week. Last week had better weather, because today was warmer, sunny, and had a stronger wind that kept shifting directions. And I ran it faster. I wasn't trying to; it just happened. It's really starting to get me worried about my marathon pacing too - time is running out before the big day, and bad pacing will really mess me up.

I'm sure that, when I am actually standing at the trailhead and the gun goes off, I'll hold back a lot more than when I am starting out on my driveway and only looking at a short distance. And it's nice to be going faster without any extra, noticeable effort.

Maybe I should start thinking about Boston as a "someday, maybe," instead of "only if I raise lots of cash for charity."

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think you're asking too much of yourself before the first marathon. Finishing your first under 4 hours would be a great achievment. Don't think of it as "so far away from a Boston Qualifier". Running is something you improve at over years, not weeks. I bet you, the vast majority of today's Boston runners didn't smoke their first marathons either. Instead, they improved steadily, and eventually were good enough to BQ.

4:28 AM  
Blogger Garou said...

I'm actually pretty realistic with my goals for the first marathon: get to the start line without injury, and finish the race. I should be able to finish it in under 4:30 (based on my long training runs and my half-marathon performances), and I might manage to break 4 (but am not planning on it - though I will certainly try).

The problem had been that my times had been pretty static for over a year - not really slow, but nowhere near fast enough for Boston. The last few weeks have actually seen a pretty impressive jump - enough of one that I could actually see improving enough over the next few years to make the Boston qualifying time.

12:47 PM  

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