It's almost here...

Wow - I can't believe it is almost here.  The event that I have been training for over the past 30 weeks.  The race that has been on my mind day in and day out, along every mile of every run.

The Rock N Roll St. Louis Marathon will commence in just shy of 9 days... 7am (central) on 10/21/2012.

9 days from now, it will all be over - good or bad.

9 days from now, I will know if the training was enough.

9 days from now, I WILL have finished my 35th marathon (or longer).

9 days from now, I WILL have a new marathon PR.

9 days from now, I WILL have my first sub-4-hour marathon.

Every bit of my training tells me I can do this.  I have worked hard to make sure each of my runs were completed.  I have pushed when I felt like giving up.  I've battled a 20 mile run alone, and ahead of the pace I need on race day.  I CAN DO THIS!!


But even if not all of the above come true, I am still proud of my accomplishments.  This training has done so much for my running.  Since beginning this plan back in March, I have accomplished more than I ever could have imagined in one racing season.  I have managed to PR in every race distance, some distances more than once.

May 2012 - Geist Half Marathon - my first sub-1:45 half!
May 2012 - Highland Lions 5-miler - my first sub-40!  In fact, it was a sub-39.
July 2012 - Mascoutah Meltdown 5k - my first sub-23!
July 2012 - Route 66 10k - my first sub-48!
September 2012 - Italianfest 5k - my first sub-22 (which was actually a sub-21:30)
October 2012 - runDisney's Tower of Terror 10-miler - a new PR at 1:22:14!
October 2012 - Hero Run Half Marathon - my first sub-1:42 (and on a long course, would have been a sub-1:40 on a normal 13.1)

I have never been much for sticking to a training plan, but for the first time ever, this year I did.  I stuck to it like glue.

I used a modified version of Hal Higdon's Personal Best Training Plan.  I found that the plan as written is too high mileage for my body a few years ago when I attempted to follow it, so I tweaked it some.  It definitely seemed to do the trick.  This is the plan I followed:

Monday - rest
Tuesday - speed work: 1.5 mile warm up, 3-4 miles of sprints/recovery, 1.5 mile cool down
Wednesday - recovery 3 miles
Thursday - 5 miles at a decent pace
Friday - rest
Saturday - long run as per Hal Higdon's Personal Best Training Plan (scheduled for Sunday on there)
Sunday - 10k run at a decent pace

I can't wait to see if the future holds one more PR for me.  These are my goals for next Sunday at the Rock N Roll St. Louis Marathon (in order of excitement level, bigger number, the more thrilled I will be at the finish line):

1. Finish
2. A new PR, which would be anything under 4:16:33 (achieved at the Country Music Marathon in 2011)
3. A sub-4 marathon... 3:59:59 would do it (This was the ultimate goal of this race.)
4. A sub-3:45 marathon
5. Boston qualifying at 3:34:59, which, according to the McMillan Running Calculator with my most recent half time, is possible, as it has me at a 3:30 marathon time.

I never thought I'd see the day where Boston Qualifying at a race was even a remote possibility... and yet, here I sit with that thought in the back of my head.  

WOW...