When I signed up for this race back in December, I had big goals. I thought I would take three weeks off after Goofy and then jump right back into training. I had my eye on a sub 1:20, but unfortunately, my piriformis and non-firing right glute had other plans. I wasn't even sure until the last week or two whether or not this would be an easy training run, tempo effort, or race. Since I've made significant progress and been able to return to regular workouts, I'm going to be racing on Sunday.
I have no idea what to expect. I've only done three tempos and two interval workouts, so I feel like my speed training is certainly lacking. I also feel like I'm still working myself back into shape and am not anywhere near where I was last fall when I ran the Army Ten Miler and set my current PR. Leaving me to believe that going for a PR this weekend isn't all that realistic. However, if I look at my long run paces from late September and early October before that race, they are actually significantly slower than what I have been doing in the last few weeks. And while my times at the track are slower than what I was running in November right before the Philadelphia Marathon, they are actually slightly faster than where I was in early October. What exactly does this mean for Sunday's race and pacing? I have no idea. I think it's fair to say that my brain is most definitely not in racing shape, but perhaps my fitness is not quite as bad as I believe it to be.
I've decided that this is a great opportunity for me to test out my new watchless approach in a race. I'll run based on effort and see what happens. This has worked well on my last few long runs and it takes my "I'm not in shape for this pace right now" brain out of the equation. Maybe I'll surprise myself with a PR and maybe I won't, but I think it will give me a realistic assessment of where I am right now. And with my real focus on racing for a half marathon PR in May, that's all I really want to know.
11 comments:
Have a great race!
You can always do the "go out as hard as you can and pray really hard" - approach.
P.S. Don't listen to me :)
I think you are going to surprise yourself by quite a bit. Can't wait to see how it goes for you!
I think you are going to suprise yourself as well. You are in great shape!
good luck this weekend! You will surprise yourself :)
Send me all your race times and all workout stats by week from the past year, and I'll do a multivariate regression to inform you of what your time will be.
Or, you could just run.
We look forward to cheering you on around mile 5 (on your left side)! I think it will be great and the weather looks like it's going to be amazing!!
Good luck! I think you're right with your approach and that you'll end up doing better than you think you will because you won't be overly thinking/worrying about how you're doing.
I'm excited to hear what you think of the race itself - I think I want to do the lottery next year and try to run this one myself.
Have fun!
I'm excited for this race for you. I think you flipped on some "fast" switch before Philly last year and your results from here on will reflect that. Good luck!
I ran the RnR 1/2 knowing I wouldn't do as well as I wanted. I actually did a lot better than I initially thought, granted the last 3 miles sucked!! Just enjoy yourself out there!
I;ll be out on the course cheering!! Good luck!
Good luck! Hope you have a GREAT race!
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