Well, it is here. Time to head to Boston! The original plan was to drive the 13ish hours today, but after spending some time on Priceline last night, we ended up with a great deal on flight + car rental.
16 weeks of training, and I'm ready to go! It's crazy how much the taper helps... just a few weeks ago I was so over running. Just get the darn marathon over with already. But now, after having a couple laid-back weeks and lower mileage, I am ALL ABOUT THE RUNNING! I cannot wait to toe the start line on Monday and unleash the beast.
I have been so blessed to have awesome training partners through this awful winter... despite the nasty snow, wind, freezing rain, I got in more outdoor runs than I ever have in a winter. So a big thank you to Amy and Jim for motivating my butt out of bed at 5:30am multiple times a week.
I was talking to my students about the race yesterday, and told them that I have run over 800 miles (828 to be exact) in preparation for this one race. They thought I was crazy. They will be watching the live stream of the marathon on Monday with my sub. They told me to wear something bright-colored so they could spot me on TV. (I'm not sure they quite understand that it might be kind of hard to see me in a sea of 27,000 runners. Lol.) I also had a few ask if I was going to win. I told them it was very unlikely. "But just run fast! You can do it!" Haha, they have no idea.
Anyways, enough blabbering. What are my goals? I would like to PR, so under 3:22. I would really like to run 3:15, as I was on pace to run that at last year's IL Marathon until about mile 20.
My main focus is going to be on taking it out easy. Start slow. I did a GMP run earlier this week, and tried to hit 7:20 each mile. It was hard to lock into that pace. Most of them were closer to 7:00-7:10, even after telling myself "sloooow down!" Add in the excitement of the race and the downhill first section, and I can see it being really hard to go out slow.
Once I get past the Newton hills though, all bets are off! I'm going to see what I can do. More than anything, I'm just really excited. I have had a great training cycle, and some awesome long runs. I'm feeling confident, and I'm ready to experience all that Boston has to offer.
If you'd like to track me during the race, my bib number is #10223. I am in wave 2 starting at 10:20am. See ya from Boston!
16 weeks of training, and I'm ready to go! It's crazy how much the taper helps... just a few weeks ago I was so over running. Just get the darn marathon over with already. But now, after having a couple laid-back weeks and lower mileage, I am ALL ABOUT THE RUNNING! I cannot wait to toe the start line on Monday and unleash the beast.
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| Kicks for the race |
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| So glad we are done with this weather. |
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| weekly mileage over the last 16 weeks |
Anyways, enough blabbering. What are my goals? I would like to PR, so under 3:22. I would really like to run 3:15, as I was on pace to run that at last year's IL Marathon until about mile 20.
My main focus is going to be on taking it out easy. Start slow. I did a GMP run earlier this week, and tried to hit 7:20 each mile. It was hard to lock into that pace. Most of them were closer to 7:00-7:10, even after telling myself "sloooow down!" Add in the excitement of the race and the downhill first section, and I can see it being really hard to go out slow.
Once I get past the Newton hills though, all bets are off! I'm going to see what I can do. More than anything, I'm just really excited. I have had a great training cycle, and some awesome long runs. I'm feeling confident, and I'm ready to experience all that Boston has to offer.
If you'd like to track me during the race, my bib number is #10223. I am in wave 2 starting at 10:20am. See ya from Boston!
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