Summit Attempt

I am now in the final three weeks of my training for the marathon. With my last long run out of the way today (more on that in a moment) I am left with 3 speed sessions, 1 race, and a bunch of maintenance miles. It will be good to pull the miles back while maintaining the intensity of speed.

I "participated" in the Last Chance for Boston marathon in Columbus today. The goal was to work my 22 mile workout within the 26.2 mile event. If the conditions were perfect I would run the extra 4 miles and finish the race. If not...I would decide the distance on my own terms. I hit the segments of the 22 mile run faster than planned and felt great. I tacked on 2 more then called it a day.

I am 46 years old. I am trying to hit a Personal Record (PR) for the marathon distance. This is not an easy thing to do at my age. The window of running these things relatively fast is closing quickly. I have approached my training a little like a mountain climber trying to reach the summit. It takes days and weeks to move from base camp up the mountain. Each camp along the route is established. Days are spent acclimating to the environment before moving up closer to the top. If all goes well and the conditions are right...the successful climber will reach the summit after a few attempts. Reaching the summit doesn't always happen. Climbers have turned away literally tens of yards from the top due to unfavorable conditions, smartly retreating for another summit attempt on another day.

My run in Columbus today was like that. I stopped with two miles to go. I had accomplished what I came down to do and did not get greedy by going for it. I am saving that for Washington DC. Could I have pushed it? Sure. Would it jeopardize the National Marathon. Yes. As one of my good friends always tells me..."plan your work then work your plan". So far so good.

Training Week March 1st to 7th
Mon: Cross training. No running.
Tue: Kent State Track - 4 x 1200 meters
Wed: 13 group miles
Thu: 8 easy miles
Fri: 4 miles with striders
Sat: 4 miles with striders
Sun: Shamrock 15K race