I was scheduled to take today off, but the legs felt good after yesterday's 13.2 and I figured I'd get a recovery run today and take off either Tuesday or Thursday instead. Easy, routine treadmill run at 9:42 pace. No muss, no fuss, not even much perspiration (a lot cooler around here today after a front came through this morning and dumped a bunch of rain).
I'm starting to think really seriously about what my goal for Memphis should be. I still want to break four hours, obviously, but beyond that? Maybe 3:50, maybe 3:40. Maybe even BQ. I don't have to decide just yet; my performances in training and in the three planned races between now and then will decide a lot. Especially the 13.1 in late October. That is where I'm really going to find out where my fitness is and thus decide what the ultimate plan is. I do plan to hook up with the appropriate pace group on race morning -- and stick with them this time. I do better running with a group of people, or even with one person (AKA Pat). I'm more accountable, less likely to slack off/walk, and manage my pace better. For now, IMO, a pace group is the way to go. And if things go well for the next four months, the pace group I may be with is the 3:30 group.
The reason I'm starting to think about the ultimate goal is that training is going so well. I'm handling higher mileage and faster paces, together, better than I had hoped I would. Frankly, I'll be really disappointed with "only" a 45-minute PR if I don't break 4:00. And I may be disappointed if I don't go quite a bit lower than that.
Pat won't be in Memphis, BTW. He's going to jog Omaha in late September and then seriously run Detroit. I looked at the Detroit website this morning and it looks like an interesting race. Something about running from the U.S. to Canada and back (including the tunnel from Windsor to Detroit) intrigues me. I may have to put Detroit on my future wish list, along with Chicago, Toronto, Athens and, of course, Boston. And at some point, I'd probably go run Houston if only because I lived down there so long. | 