Well it's almost here. The Grand Rapids Marathon is this Sunday so I have to fill this week with something other than running.
Training Recap
I started training seriously back in the beginning of August. I moved the mileage up from 25mpw to about 40mpw. By September I had a couple of 50 mile weeks which is probably more than I've ever done. I basically followed the Runners World intermediate training plan which is a 16 week plan that caps out around 48mpw with a 22 mile long run. I think that week I hit 51 but I've stayed within a few miles of their recommendations the entire time. The major variant from their plan is I didn't run hills (because I can't find any mostly) but instead did speedwork the entire time.
One thing that concerns me is there is very little tempo running in this plan and I have not spent a lot of time/miles running at or just below marathon pace. Will this be a problem? I'll find out in a few days.
Overall I have enjoyed this season of training way more than I have previous marathon sessions. My long runs did not feel like death marches and I was able to stay away from a lot of the normal aches and pains associated with marathon training. I also started a tradition of running the last 20 minutes or so of my long runs at marathon pace. It really helped me feel like I was "finishing well" each week. This was made possible by my special ipod motivation mix made especially for the occasion. :-)
Race Goals
Of course I could say "I just want to finish strong" but that would be blatant self-deception. I expect to be very uncomfortable during the race but hopefully not until the last 4 miles or so. My PR is 3:20:36 and I would really like to get under 3:20. This would also be a Boston Qualifier and would open up that door for 2011. I'm going to start out around 7:30 pace and see how that feels.
Right now the weather looks really good.
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