It's been such a long time since I've last written something here, and the only reason I can give is that I've been so busy with work. And, if it's not with work then it's either with marathon training, or watching all the Olympics/Paralympics coverage available, or just those other things in life that got in the way or needed to be done. But I've managed to find a small bit of time for this, so hopefully I can get the blogging back on track too.
There's only three weeks left to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, and while I'm certainly in good shape, I'm not sure whether I am really ready to meet my goal time of 3:05. If I do get that time it will be an improvement by over 3 minutes, but more importantly it will consider me entry into the Boston Marathon, which is the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the world. Compared to my preparation for Paris, I felt this one wasn't so stellar. Work commitments got in the way, the Olympics were in town, and, for me, training in the summer was a lot more demanding than winter (although getting outside in the cold and darkness was also a challenge in itself!).
The curtain raiser to Chicago will be the Maidenhead Half Marathon, tomorrow. It's only a year old, I heard it's flat and fast, and if the weather conditions are suitable then I might get a fast time. It's only a training race, so if things do go wrong then I won't feel so gutted about it. But the main thing is that it will give me an indication of how likely I am to perform on the big day, given perfect conditions. And if I am to run 3:05 in Chicago, there are three objectives I must meet in Maidenhead tomorrow - my Mission: Impossible. They are:
Objective 1: Set a new PB
This one is obvious. My PB in the half, set at Reading last April, is 1:33:36, which equates to a 3:07 marathon time. To be in with a shot of 3:05, I need to run 1:32:30 or faster. I believe I am in 1:30 half marathon shape, but since Chicago is my priority I can't go crazy in Maidenhead tomorrow trying to set a massive PB.
Objective 2: Set a new PB, on tired legs
With 3 weeks to go, which means I'm still in the most demanding period of the marathon training cycle, I'll be running the half marathon on legs that have already logged 60-80 weekly miles. So I can't enjoy the usual 2-week tapering phase that comes before a big race without losing marathon fitness. I admit, I did reduce mileage coming into the half from 80 to 60 miles a week, and this week has only seen me run 40 miles so far, but that's still quite a lot of miles covered before running a half marathon. When I toe the line at Chicago, hopefully my legs will have a lot more spark in them, so to run on tired legs will simulate the middle-late stages of the marathon where I will, most certainly, have tired legs and, hopefully, still run strong on them
Objective 3: Set a new PB, on tired legs..... and not feel exhausted afterwards
If I manage to meet the first two goals, but feel absolutely shattered crossing the finish line, then there's no way that I'll meet my target time at Chicago. To be in with a shot of running 3:05, I need to run Maidenhead at target pace comfortably and still have fuel left in the tank to run much further. My target pace will be 4 minutes 23 seconds per km, or 7 minutes 3 seconds per mile. Running 1 km or 1 mile at that pace must feel like a walk in the park; running a half marathon won't be so easy but it must feel comfortable.
If I can accomplish Mission: Impossible, it will give me the confidence that I can run a 3:05 time in Chicago in three weeks. It looks like the weather will be a little on the warm side tomorrow, but hopefully with a bit of luck and smart racing that won't be a decisive factor.
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