So... (as if you didn't know already)... I am running my first marathon on Sunday.
I am excited/nervous/petrified/happy all at the same time. I know, it takes talent to feel all those feelings at once.
In discussion with some of my friends/co-workers, a lot of people have told me, "Just run for fun! It'll be such an accomplishment to finish!"
And yes, it will be a huuuuge accomplishment to finish a marathon!
But, the competitive side of me thinks about the numbers. My finish time, pace per mile, negative splitting. After running competitively for 8+ years straight, I'm not quite ready to just "run for fun."
According to several online "running pace calculators", my half-mary time (from November) of 1:36 puts me at about a 3:20 marathon, 7:38-pace. Yikes! That is crazy fast (for a marathon).
So, in a desperate attempt for reassurance, I emailed my former coach last week asking for advice. [Side note: He has run many, many marathons, with a PR of 2:25. He knows his stuff.] I told him my sob story. "I'm afraid to start the marathon at 7:38-pace, because, yea it will feel good for awhile, but I don't want to die at mile 16! I'd still have 10.2 miles to go!" Followed by, "But I don't want to go out too conservatively and finish feeling like I could have run faster and never know what I could have done. Because who knows if I'll ever run one of these marathons again!"
So he responded with a great plan:
I am excited/nervous/petrified/happy all at the same time. I know, it takes talent to feel all those feelings at once.
In discussion with some of my friends/co-workers, a lot of people have told me, "Just run for fun! It'll be such an accomplishment to finish!"
And yes, it will be a huuuuge accomplishment to finish a marathon!
But, the competitive side of me thinks about the numbers. My finish time, pace per mile, negative splitting. After running competitively for 8+ years straight, I'm not quite ready to just "run for fun."
According to several online "running pace calculators", my half-mary time (from November) of 1:36 puts me at about a 3:20 marathon, 7:38-pace. Yikes! That is crazy fast (for a marathon).
So, in a desperate attempt for reassurance, I emailed my former coach last week asking for advice. [Side note: He has run many, many marathons, with a PR of 2:25. He knows his stuff.] I told him my sob story. "I'm afraid to start the marathon at 7:38-pace, because, yea it will feel good for awhile, but I don't want to die at mile 16! I'd still have 10.2 miles to go!" Followed by, "But I don't want to go out too conservatively and finish feeling like I could have run faster and never know what I could have done. Because who knows if I'll ever run one of these marathons again!"
So he responded with a great plan:
- Start out the first 8 miles at 7:55-8:00 pace. (I ended up averaging this pace for quite a few of my long runs, especially the ones I ran outside vs. treadmill.)
- The next 8 miles at 7:45-7:50 pace.
- Then see what I have left for the last 10.2.
I think this plan sounds great. It divides the race into segments, and I will have loads of fun figuring my splits in my head. (Which is one of my favorite things to do while running long. Remember, I am a math teacher. Numbers fascinate me.)
So, all in all, I'd be happy under 3:30. I mean, I'll be "happy" just finishing, since it is my first marathon, but I'd really like to run under 3:30. And the closer to 3:20, the better.
But we'll see what happens! It could be raining sideways and 30+mph winds. That would definitely change things.
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| At a track meet that likely had crazy winds. Almost all our meets were crazy windy. Miss you ladies! |
On a slightly funnier note, I had my students "predict my finish time" today. A lot of them know I've been training for the race, so I thought this could be fun. I told them my half-marathon time from November, and let them make an educated guess from there. I will be giving extra credit to the person who is closest.
Here were some of my favorites... they left me little notes of encouragement with their guesses.
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| "I think your time will be maybe 2 hrs. 45 mins. Ruuunnnnn! I hope you finish!" I hope, I do, too... haha. But pretty sure I won't be finishing in 2:45. |
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| "Tarah says 3 hrs 22 mins! Good luck Mrs. Anderson!" |
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| "I think it will take you 3 hrs 18 mins. Good luck! GO! GO! GO!" |
The times ranged from 1:10 to 4 hours, so we shall see what happens! [Side note: 1:10, really? If they knew I ran a half in 1:36, how on earth would I run a full in 1:10? Looks like we need to do a lesson on proportions!]
So, there ya have it. My race goals laid out. Now we'll just have to see how it goes!
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