November 2007 Archives

It's taper time ... one week to go to CIM on Dec. 2nd, 2007. I am "ready" as far as having followed my training plan more or less to the "T", missing only one workout the entire 16 weeks ... and I am feeling pretty good about that.

But just as before IMCDA in June, I'm wondering if I haven't been training too hard too late in the game, resulting in my feeling pretty tired. Some of that worn out feeling could be from the Thanksgiving celebrations this past week, with the hectic running around involved in shopping and preparing food and the stress of providing an appropriately "festive" atmosphere for our guests ... or I could be coming down with a bug (please no).

I hope it's plain old taper blues ... and not anything serious. I will rest, eat well, and take my vitamins daily ... there's nothing more that I can do ... que sera sera. I've bought, and broken in, my new running shoes, booked a hotel near the finish line, and am ready to give it my all. 4:00:00 or bust!

It's been a while ... since my last post I mean. It isn't a bad thing ... it means I've been busy - with both work and training. I travel occasionally for work, and lately it's been more than usual. Also, when I am home, there are projects around the house that need doing as well as the usual chores. Then, theirs marathon training, and marathon cross training, and core strength training ... and least we forget, mental toughness training ... But today I feel satisfied with my level of training in all of the aforementioned categories, and confident in my ability to run a good solid marathon on December 2nd. Whether I qualify for Boston or not with a goal time of sub 4:00 is still up in the air. I believe that if everything goes perfectly then I have a decent shot at it. If one thing is off, then it will be out of my reach.

I'm on the edge - but I guess that's what makes it exciting, doesn't it? I mean, I just don't know what kind of day I'm going to have ... and I guess that's why I keep coming back for more ... and more ... and more ... I love the gamesmanship of it all - will the weather cooperate (I tend to do better in cooler conditions than hotter, and forget about humidity, but I don't mind rain) - Will my stomach be settled?- Will my knee flare up or stay quiescent? Will I be healthy? Will my allergies stay under control? With all the possible roadblocks in my way I should be happy really, if I just get to the finish line.

So here are my A, B and C goals:
A = sub 4:00:00
B= sub 4:10:00
C = sub 4:14:28 (my current PR) ... and lastly (just in case) ...
D = live to fight another day

I'm excited ... and at this point in my training I think that is a good thing. I have a few more speed workouts, and some solid tempo runs to put in, but basically, I'm in taper mode now, and really looking forward to my race. I think the hard work is paying off and it feels good.

Oh, a-n-d and after my 2nd 20 miler this past weekend, I finally have enough running miles in one week to generate a Parrot prediction - and guess what? It's awfully close to 4 hours - whhaa whoo (04:02:40 to be exact) - now that's a positive sign ...