I've been tossing around various ideas in my head and I believe I've come to a "realistic but enough to make me wince" goal, but first me allow me to share a little history here.
Last year when I decided to train for the marathon I wasn't quite prepared for what I was getting into. I made a huge effort and I finished the race in one piece, so in that way I'm proud. However, I will say that eight-ish weeks of no-running, leading to only 13 ish weeks of training (instead of the standard 18) was not quite ideal.
Now, I'm in my 5th week of training and just finished my first 12 mile run - let's compare and contrast to last years progression. It's not a perfect comparison, as I was not on any sort of plan last year, but it does give you an idea of how far I've come.
*It's worth noting that these are not just runs of the exact same mileage but they were run on the exact same path.
| Mileage | 2011 Training Runs | 2012 Training Runs | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 miles | 3/19 - 1:28 | 6/9 - 1:20 | 8 mins |
| 8.8 miles | 7/24 - 1:53 | 6/15 - 1:48 | 5 mins |
| 12.4 miles | 8/14 - 2:39 | 7/7 - 2:23 | 16 mins |
Basically what this table says is that I'm in a pretty good place right now.
I really don't know what I'm capable of and to that end setting a goal in some ways feels arbitrary. I think if I train hard and well, I'll be happy with the results regardless. However, I'm throwing out a time to seek after anyway: Ready for it?
5:12:22
That's exactly 30 mins off my time last years time. It's a pretty aggressive shave, but also very doable. It's also feels like just enough push to keep me motivated throughout the rest of this plan.
What are you training for?
How do you decide what your race goals are?
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