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Oct 19, 2012

Going for broke?

Rest day on the schedule today....

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2 days.  That's it!  Grand Rapids here I come!

So yesterday I was talking to one of my co-workers.  This guy is really fast and he puts everything into his training--including Ironman training!  I've stated my goal earlier this week as 3:49:59 or better.  Without that, I'll leave Grand Rapids disappointed but with another marathon medal.  Ha!

With his convincing(His quote that got me - "Don't accept anything less than your goal"), I'm now thinking I've got more than that in the tank.  The question is how much more.  I'm really trying going to go into this race with a positive attitude.  I know it makes all the difference in the world.  My optimism has got me thinking 3:30:00.  A freaking 8 minute pace for 26.2 miles!!!  Yes, I'd be going for broke.  It could end up haunting me but I've trained for this and it looks like were going to have perfect weather for the race.

What do you think?  Would you go for it knowing you might crash?  In the end, I don't think I have anything to lose except 18 weeks of more training and a year wait another day to prove I can do this.

You'll find out soon if I did.  I'm not going to decide officially until race morning.  You can follow my race if you want.  I'll be tracking my times on my Twitter account so feel free to follow me if you are interested.

My new mantra -

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

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9 comments:

  1. JohannOctober 19, 2012 at 9:28 AM

    I'm sure you can do it. Take the first 20 miles easy enough and you'll get to that goal. All the best!

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  2. Mark MatthewsOctober 19, 2012 at 10:42 AM

    That's such a hard decision. I go through the same type of decision. I say, run the risk of tougher later miles at least once in a while and see what you got. Easy for me to say, right?

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  3. TNTcoach KenOctober 19, 2012 at 10:52 AM

    Don't be a baby, go for broke! I've done crash and burn, you'll still live and have a great story!

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  4. StephanieOctober 19, 2012 at 11:25 AM

    I agree with coach Ken, go for broke. It's a marathon, its supposed to hurt!

    I'll be pushing the pace too. We are pacing a running friend to a (hopefully) BQ. He needs a 3:40, but our goal is 3:35. I'll make sure to say 'hi' as you pass us on the course. :-)

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  5. Matt (fasterthanaturtle.com)October 19, 2012 at 1:22 PM

    It can be a tough decision depending on what you have at stake. I'd never be in a position to get anything more than a PR (i.e., no AG award or anything like that), so I'd go for broke trying to get a PR or achieve another similar goal denoting significant progress. I'm in the camp of trying to get as much as possible out of myself...sure I run the risk of crashing, but I'll take that risk for the potential reward.

    You'll know a little while into the race whether 3:30:00 could be in the cards for you, and you'll be able to adjust accordingly. Even if you're on pace for that but crash later in the race, you'll still have a big buffer for breaking 3:50:00 and you'll know you gave it a shot. And if you break 3:30:00, you'll be very glad you went for broke. Good luck!!

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  6. protometal @ clippinalong.blogspot.comOctober 19, 2012 at 3:40 PM

    Shoot for the stars, at least you should hit the moon! :)

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  7. The Green GirlOctober 19, 2012 at 10:12 PM

    Love that you have such a supportive, motivating friend.

    Good luck!

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  8. Ty @tyruns.blogspotOctober 20, 2012 at 8:02 AM

    Well, I disagree. Shooting for the stars could land you on a roof with your head stuck in a chimney because starting too fast can really destroy a marathon. I looked at your log in daily mile and I don't see any non-races run at an 8:00 flat pace, so I think expecting that for 26.2 miles is a little nuts. (UNLESS some of those runs are average paces of tempo or interval workouts where your fast pace was faster and your recovery pace was slower, in which case 8:00 may be very reasonable). I would say 8:15-8:30 pace (based on your log) would be a more reasonable target, yet still challenging. Ultimately it depends on how upset you'll be if you bonk, and don't even beat your PR. Is it worth the risk to you? I like to look at the McMillan running calculator's TRAINING paces to see if I'm prepared for a certain goal time or not. Put in 3:30 for a full marathon time and then look at what training pace you should be hitting on long runs, tempo runs, and interval runs. If you have been hitting those paces consistently in your training, then you'll know if you are prepared for that finish time. Just my 2 (hundred!) cents. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Detroit Runner(Jeff)October 20, 2012 at 8:22 AM

      See Ty that is where I'm different in this race. It defies all logic. More balls than brains as I said on Twitter. It's all about heart for this one. I have it in my mind I can do this. If I crash, I crash - it won't be the end of the world but even if I do crash, I'm hoping for a PR(just not that large of one). McMillan has been about right on everything for me except the marathon so I won't let that stop me. I do value your opinion though - the post was meant to encourage discussion about it. I hope to prove you wrong tomorrow - for my sake. Ha!

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