Less than a week to go!
It's hard to believe it's so close. I'm still excited and nervous. I've also started that bad habit of stressing about the weather. I check out the extended forecasts, which I'm starting to think are just randomly generated. When I checked last Friday, I saw this:
It called for rain on Saturday as well, so it seemed pretty convincing. It was mildly upsetting, but even more so after yesterday was an absolutely *perfect* day for a marathon. One week too early.
In any case, this is what it looks like today:
All mention of rain is gone from the next 10 days, and the chance of precipitation is down to 10%. I'd love to get excited, but I think it's still too early.
Like I said, it's a bad habit.
Anyway, still feeling well. I had a tough run yesterday, but it turns out I was running faster than I thought. I went to Central Park to run the last few miles of the marathon. My Garmin never works perfectly there, so I never pay too much attention to it when I'm there. However, when I was done with 5 miles I was only at 40 minutes. So no wonder it was tough. I finished off another 5 miles at the same pace, for my final long run. Pretty exciting to be done with that.
I'm still totally confused about my goals for this marathon. My one and only finish time is 4:43:50. Barring major problems, I should be able to beat that easily. Originally, my goal had been to get under 4 hours. I still think of that as my primary goal, but I can tell I'm capable of much more than that already. I'd like to run a little faster , but I definitely don't want to tire at the end of the race, and have another bad experience on First Avenue.
I'm thinking that I'll try and settle into a 9 minute per mile pace in the first few miles, and see how that goes for 10 miles or so. It's fairly uncommon, but I'd like to end up with a negative split for the race. If I'm feeling good in the second half, I'll try and pick up some time there.
It called for rain on Saturday as well, so it seemed pretty convincing. It was mildly upsetting, but even more so after yesterday was an absolutely *perfect* day for a marathon. One week too early.
In any case, this is what it looks like today:
All mention of rain is gone from the next 10 days, and the chance of precipitation is down to 10%. I'd love to get excited, but I think it's still too early.
Like I said, it's a bad habit.
Anyway, still feeling well. I had a tough run yesterday, but it turns out I was running faster than I thought. I went to Central Park to run the last few miles of the marathon. My Garmin never works perfectly there, so I never pay too much attention to it when I'm there. However, when I was done with 5 miles I was only at 40 minutes. So no wonder it was tough. I finished off another 5 miles at the same pace, for my final long run. Pretty exciting to be done with that.
I'm still totally confused about my goals for this marathon. My one and only finish time is 4:43:50. Barring major problems, I should be able to beat that easily. Originally, my goal had been to get under 4 hours. I still think of that as my primary goal, but I can tell I'm capable of much more than that already. I'd like to run a little faster , but I definitely don't want to tire at the end of the race, and have another bad experience on First Avenue.
I'm thinking that I'll try and settle into a 9 minute per mile pace in the first few miles, and see how that goes for 10 miles or so. It's fairly uncommon, but I'd like to end up with a negative split for the race. If I'm feeling good in the second half, I'll try and pick up some time there.
posted by Danny on Monday, October 29, 2007
6 Comments:
Maybe you shouldn't look at the weather so often. If you want the weather forecast, give me a call and I will make one up for you.
have a great race out there.
Ditto for the great race wishes.
But, man - if you could squeeze out a negative split. That'd be tough. IIRC, with the exception of the Verazanno Narrows, most of the hills, twists, and turns are in the last 13.
I can't wait to cheer you on!!
good luck ...good luck...good luck:)
can't wait to hear all about it.
I'm a weather freak, but I HATE extended forecasts. After about two days, the forecast is basically worthless. Extended forecasts give us high hopes or provide disappointment. Anyway, happy running and enjoy yourself out there. I don't wish people luck in races ... at this point, it's not luck that carries you to the finish line!
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