CIM Goals

I hate to say it, but race day is almost here!  Where on Earth did this week go??  Normally race week seems to drag for me, but this week, with a ton of crazy going on, it has swept past me and we're in the home stretch.

Monday I had 8 miles on the books and was a bit nervous about them considering my knee didn't feel too fab in my prior attempts.  But by mile 2 it had behaved itself and I was able to cruise home with a teeny tiny bit of confidence for Sunday - 1:04:33 - 8:04/mi pace
Tuesday was scheduled to be an easy 5 at 8:32/ mi pace.  Easy enough, especially when I was still tired from the day before.  Does that happen to anyone else during taper?  I felt tired after doing 8?  Sheesh!  When I hit the pavement though, and started running my 5, my legs apparently didn't get the memo about the "slow" pace or that I was tired.  They just wanted to move!  I looked down at my Garmin about 1/2 mile in and saw 7:30 pace!  Whoa!  Too fast!  I tried to rein it in, but still managed an 8:02 first mile.   And from there, it just got worse.  I couldn't slow them down and when I did, it didn't feel comfortable.  So...I went with it and turned my 5 into a little tempo run.  I finished the five in 39:28 - 7:54/mi pace and called it a day.  My knee was not angry at all during the run, and after a good stretch and ice session, I felt even better.  I can't say my confidence was lifted by much, but it gives me hope that at least the first five miles on Sunday should be fast and hopefully pain-free.  After that...it's any one's guess! LOL!

Yesterday was a rest day and today is a tempo run 6.  I think this will be an easy 6 since Tuesday was already a bit fast.  We'll see.  I'm heading out to my favorite trail later this afternoon with the hubbs when he gets home.

I know I have been talking about my expectations for Sunday for a while now.  I had big plans of achieving them in Long Beach back in October, but as we all know, it just wasn't the right place or time for me.  This Sunday, I have crossed all my "t's" and dotted all my "i's" and hopefully the stars align, and my sacrifice to the running god's will appease them.  I have a great support team coming with me, which include my hubbs, my rents, my sister-in-law, big Bro and my nephew.  All will be braving the cold for me, in hopes that I will succeed in crossing the finish line of marathon #8 with my fastest time yet.

I have a lot of goals I want to achieve.  You would think by marathon #8 you would have this stuff down, but race day can be a crap shoot and you never know what you're going to get.  I want to really focus on hydration and nutrition.  I want to be spot on, even when my tummy doesn't feel so great.  I know I had a missed opportunity in Stockton when I didn't take in anything, and I don't want to be in that spot again.  I want to at least attempt to get it down.  I also want to enjoy the race.   I don't want to speed by and miss all that comes when you run a marathon.  It's my victory lap for putting in all the hard work, and if I don't soak it all up, then I feel I may be missing out on some of the glory.  I also want to work on saying "thank you" to all the volunteers.  I'm already pretty good about this, but towards the end of a marathon, I often fall off this and miss peeps.  I want to stay alert and be gracious to all those people who are giving up their Sunday morning.

To say I'm not nervous or anxious would be a lie.  I know we all get a touch of this when we are towing the line of our next big race, but mine seems to have gone overboard this time.  Butterflies have filled my stomach since Tuesday.  My dreams are already consisting of race day disasters, and every second I'm not thinking about the race, I'm thinking I'm forgetting something! Ha!  But I know as the day gets closer I will be able to relax.  I often have that occur for me - I get all the stressing done ahead of time so that when I toe the line I'm ready to attack!  So, the big time goals for Sunday:
1. 3:29:59 - this is what I have been training for, it's what I want most
2. 3:34:59 - if I begin to see my 3:30 slip away, I would be happy working for this
3: 3:38:18 - beating my PR (3:38:19) by at least a second!
4. 3:39:59 - BQing - I know that this is possible
5. FINISH - with a smile on my face and knowing I did the best I could that day with what I had

As you can see, my #1 goal is to come in around 3:30.  I have done most of my runs to shoot for this.  I know what an 8:00/mi pace feels like even when I'm not running!  I have drilled it into my head and legs and know exactly what I need to do to get back to that "zen" pace I know so well.  And....AND if McMillan has been accurate about anything, according to him and my recent 1:39 half, he believes I should be able to run a full in 3:29:21!  And even if I put in my 1:41 half that had a course more similar to CIM, he thinks I could go 3:33 - which is still great awesome in my book.  In the past McMillan has been pretty spot on with pacing and predicting - but that means that I would need the perfect race day, and I'm hoping that will grace me come Sunday.

I'm heading to Sacramento on Saturday with the fam.  My brother and sister-in-law live there and thankfully I won't have to stay in a hotel bed.  I'm already packed!  I have my play list ready (although, side note - I may not wear music, I've been doing most of my runs without it, so I'm going to have it but might not use it) and all my running esscentials ready to throw into my suitcase.  I want the day to get here now, but at the same time I could push it out a few days!

To say this week wasn't crazy is an understatement.  I have had a ton on my plate.  Work is busy and on top of that, my sister's boy friend had emergency surgery on Tuesday night and we have been going to see him when we can.  I'm being pulled in all directions!  But, there is an end in sight and I'm excited to cross #8 off my list! 
Off to catch up with all of you!  Hopefully I will get a chance to check in here one more time before Sunday.  But, if not, you can find me with the runner tracker system on the CIM website and here, I'm bib# 201! 
Happy Thursday and Happy Running peeps!