I've decided to take these last 3 days completely off. Partly because I want the achilles fully rested and partly from the success of taking 3 days off for my last marathon- seemed to help.
This is the first year that I'm am completely uncertain about goals. My fastest Boston Marathon was 2 years ago in 3:13- I was extremely well prepared, but then dealt with illness (strep throat), was exhausted at the starting line (way to much walking + shivering for 2 hours pre-race in the cold), and ran against a steady headwind.
Last year I was less prepared training wise and finished with a 3:15. I had been injured in Dec/Jan and then had the flu the weekend of the race. I definitely pushed things and ended up in the medical tent severely dehydrated.
This year my base mileage is down. I barely ran over 100 miles in January, doubled my mileage for February, and then got up over 300 miles in March. This is the first marathon I've run without doing any pre-races- 1/2's, 10k's, 5k's, etc.- nothing! Also, I struggled through a few achilles issues in March with my increased mileage- they're still a bit sore, but have improved significantly over the past couple weeks. My weight is 4-5 heavier than my Fall marathon, yet my training runs are as fast as ever. I'm as healthy as ever and looks as though I'll get the proper rest (8 hours the past couple of nights and plan on 8 again tonight).
As I analyze everything for Monday, I must also factor a 3-year base of averaging 3,000 miles of running per/year. If the weather report holds, the temperature and winds will also be working in my favor. With this all in mind, here is my best stab at 3 different goals...
1) Establish a new pr for Boston (sub-3:13)
2) Break 3:10
3) Get a new pr (sub-3:06:59)- I know I have the speed, it's just a matter of how I feel going into the final 10k. Endurance is my only concern.
All in all, I'm keeping my expectations low and will probably know by mile 4-6 which goal to really zone in on. | 