7:30 pm: Island Walk mini-bridges. 2.4 up. weight training. 2.4 down.
I just thought I would get some “year in review / looking ahead” thoughts down. Short version – What happened in Savannah changed my thinking about what I am trying to accomplish as a runner. I am going for sub 3 at Sugarloaf. The rest of this is going to be kind of disjointed, so whatever.
I’ve been hesitant to call that sub 3 shot. Well, we go on these cool trips, and I never thought I would qualify for Boston, so time isn’t really the goal, and countless other excuses for not trying that I have unloaded on this blog. Well, now I have called it out.
Savannah went bad. I knew it wasn’t going to be a PR, but not just because of the weather. Something was off at the start line. Yes, the kids’ football seasons really beat up my training. But as I understand it, the kids get even more involved with things as they get older, so my time to train will become less and less. My training has been so uninspired since Boston, that I was starting to wonder why I was doing this. Then we got home, and I was kind of bummed. Then we had Thanksgiving, and Andy’s wedding, and Johnny’s birthday, and Christmas, and New year’s, and Tommy changing schools, and yesterday, my birthday. I have eaten so much cake in the last month!
If I am going to get sub 3, it’s got to happen soon. It’s only going to get harder. I had originally rough scheduled 2016 to go – Jackson, MS in January, Brookings, SD in May (I’ll get there eventually, Matt), and then RnR Vegas in November. I was kind of psyched for Jackson, as it would be my 10th marathon, on the anniversary of my first marathon.
More awkward candor - I have a coach. I have had a coach since before joining this blog. I didn’t say so in the beginning, and then more time passed to where it would be weird to admit having a coach here. He’s seasonal in Florida. He spends half the year in Canada, and half in Island Walk, where I have been running on Mondays and Thursdays lately. The first time I met him was a week after MCM, and I was really down. He said he could knock a half hour off my marathon time. He said that without ever seeing me run. 2 months later, I got a half hour off. Back then, he set up the plan, and it was up to me to execute it. Then, for a while, I would send him e-mails, letting him know how I was doing, and the coaching was much more distant. But now, He wants me to get sub 3, probably as much as I do. He has a really good resume, as a coach. I am honored at the amount of time and advice he has given me.
Okay, so looking ahead – The plan is to get my weekly mileage up to @ 60-70. For January, February and into March I’m going to stick with this weight training plan he has me working on Mondays and Thursdays. Wednesday night speed work – either at the track, the Island Walk hilly course, or Celery Mound. Every run I do will have some component of race pace running, even if it is for 100 yards. I beefed up about 15 pounds at the tail end of the year, so there is much focus on weight right now. I am 182, and ideal race weight is @ 165ish. I need to run more races. Racing is not running. Nothing can prepare you for a race like a bunch of races. Coach is a big believer in those charts that say “if you can run a 5k in x, then you can run a 10k in y, and you can run a marathon in z.” So racing these local races will either let me know I’m on the right track, or make me lose hope.
My family is on board with the plan, and are being remarkably accommodating. I am going to try to not let this take over our family schedule, but I can see where that could happen.
I think that is about enough for one night.
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