Note to self: pay more attention to your running routes when you map them out.

Wednesday morning I got up for a 7 mile run before heading to pace Wes again on the bike. The night before while watching a movie I was playing around with various courses on MapMyRun to find an out and back.

I found one that was relatively close to home, didn’t seem that bad and I was tired so I just went with it.

7 Miles

The first 2 miles were relatively easy. For some reason it didn’t click with me that all these down hills I was running in the beginning meant lots of uphills later. As soon as mile 2 hit it became one hill after another. I understand Virginia loves hills, and I have no problem with a few but I felt like a majority of this course was up hill.

Lesson learned. I will pay attention to elevation next time. I finished a total of 7 miles. It was a tough run, so I was glad to see home!

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?!

 

In other news I think I have officially figured out my marathon training plan. I still have a bit of research to do but I am looking forward to taking that next step towards my goal.

I got a question via email on what my goal was for my upcoming marathon. That is a bit of a loaded question, so I decided that I would set up a several goals to help keep me focused.

Goal


Goal A

Finish the marathon strong, healthy and uninjured.

I have faith that this will be an easy goal to accomplish, but after dealing my injury back last September it is important for me to first and foremost stay healthy.

 

Goal B

A sub-4 hour marathon. This would be a significant (> 30 minutes) PR for me and I have faith that with my 10k training and my marathon training to come that this is well within my reach.

 

Goal C

Boston Qualify. This is what I would consider my “stretch goal.” While I do think it is possible, I don’t want to put all the pressure on myself to make it happen my first marathon back.

I would be over the moon happy if it did, but cutting over an hour off my marathon PR is a BIG task and I care more about staying healthy then pushing too hard

Every Morning

In the end I want to PR. After the training I have put in, I think I can aim for that. I’ll be honest, I really want to BQ. I am realistic and know that this is a stretch goal. It doesn’t mean it can’t happen, but it would have to mean that all the stars would need to align for me that day. We all know how unpredictable marathons (or any race for that matter) can be.

The key is progress. As long as I keep progressing forward in the end I will be happy.

 

Do you set multiple goals for yourself in races?

What is the next goal you have for yourself?

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