Fear
“Don't fear failure so much that you refuse to try. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.”-- Louis E. Boone.I saw Janet today and she gave the legs a good flushing; I was pleased to hear her say that my legs didn’t feel bad (although both calves were sensitive). There was a little extra time so I asked her to work on a crook in my right shoulder (big mistake).
After work, I met Rumon at his place and we headed up to UVic and ran the surrounding trails, looping back through Henderson, Mystic Vale and small set off Arbutus. My legs felt sluggish and heavy for the first ten minutes but as we bantered back and forth like two gee-eyed eejits, the legs slipped into a comfortable pace and we rambled on. The discussion revolved around debriefing the weekend’s performances. I had run 1:15:29, which corresponds to a 2:38:21 marathon. Carter had run 1:19:22, corresponding to 2:46:30. With less then five weeks left and given we want to run 2:36 and 2:45 respectively, where does this leave us?
With both appreciate there are a few solid weeks of training left along with a nice taper which both bode in our favour. The next decision I found myself asking was whether I had the guts/desire to aim for 2:36. Do I seek 2:36 and risk running 2:41, or, ease back and aim for 2:38 with less risk? The question reminded me of a quote I recently saw on a painting, “if you could do anything & be guaranteed not to fail, what would it be?”… the decision becomes easier.
Training: an easy 1:02:33
2 comments:
Have you read the Jan/Feb Marathon and Beyond? It has a good article on goal setting that talks about a range +-5 minutes which is alot easier to hit than the 1 minute bulleye. London is flat and fast, right? Good luck!
No, I haven't read the article but I'll have a look for it. What you said makes good sense, something I always need reminding of. Bruce and I have always worked out a range come race day, e.g., when running Sacramento I was looking at 6’/miles therefore 6x60” = 360” x 1% = 4”/mile or 5:56 – 6:04, or 2:35:34 to 2:39:04. And yeah, London is flat and fast! Thanks for the good luck… all the best to you in Boston too, what is it now, less then 4 weeks?
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