Tag Archives: marathon training

MCM Time Goals + Your MCM Recaps!

Last week before NYCM, I wrote a post about my marathon time goals. Let’s do that again, eh?

GOALS

Let me start out by saying that I don’t understand at all when people have bad races and then say they were thinking they let people down. I’m not sure anyone’s ever thought “Wow, I’m really disappointed in her for not meeting her time goal.” Should I not meet these goals, I’m only letting myself down.

But I’m prepared to have a great race.

Let’s do this backwards. Last year, I had 4 time goals, as it was my second marathon, and I knew I’d gotten faster but I wasn’t positive what my body could do. This year, let’s do some time goals and some non-time goals.

Time Goals

C Goal: PR from last year’s 4:19:56 at NYCM. That was a 9:55 pace, and I’ve been training around a 9:30 pace. As long as I have a decent race, I’m pretty sure I got this one.

B Goal: 4:09. This is a 9:30 pace, so I’m fairly confident in this one, too.

A Goal: Sub-4. (Or bust.) This has been my goal the entire training cycle, and I’m not positive how realistic it is right now, but I’m still going to try.

Non-Time Goals

Negative split. I’m usually terrified of not having enough left, so I start off a little slower and then pick it up. I know some people are afraid of “not having enough left in the tank,” but I’m afraid of starting off too fast and then flaming out.

Finish strong. I’d love to finish feeling as awesome as I felt at NYCM last year, but I will crawl over that finish line if I have to.


MCM RECAPS

I tweeted and asked for your MCM recaps, and you delivered! Below find some recaps I plan on reading and re-reading today and tomorrow. If you have one, please link to it in the comments, and I will update this post with your links.

Lauren from Health on the Run (who, holy shit, crushed this race at 3:18:09)

Spectating recaps from Jess Runs, who’s also running it this year. 2010, 2011. If you’re spectating, these might help you.

A recap from Gwennie Pie from 2008

LET’S DO THIS. If you’re doing MCM, what’s your goal? Any sub-4-or-bust advice?

Why I Love Marathons

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The other night I sat at dinner with a few runner friends.

Over a few glasses of wine, the topic turned to marathons, as it is wont to do with a group of runner friends.

There was a lot of talking about how difficult training is, how difficult marathons are, how they’d all gotten slower while marathon training. How they weren’t sure if they had another one in the cards.

I have no idea what my post-Marine Corps race plans look like, but I can tell you I don’t think this will be my last marathon.

This will be my third marathon (first, Chicago; second, NYC!), and while I definitely agree with all of the comments about how difficult marathons are and how intense the training can be, I LOVE IT.

I love waking up on a weekend morning with a huge mileage goal in mind.

I love when I get home, and I’ve achieved that goal.

I love that somehow my body defies the odds, and that I’ve gotten faster for each marathon that I’ve trained for.

While the waking up early took a lot to get used to, I love getting to work with a 9-mile run under my belt.

I love looking at my schedule as a giant puzzle and making sure that the marathon pieces are the next pieces to be laid after the work pieces.

I love the crazy emotions I feel crossing the finish line: pride and happiness for finishing, but a little sadness that it’s all over.

I love that I can do this. I never thought I’d be able to run a half-marathon, much less a marathon, much less be training for my third marathon.

Oh, and I love carbs. Obviously.

Marathons: love ’em or hate ’em?