We have a plan!

Okay...I know that this makes post #2 for the day, but I couldn't resist this. I met my coach today to discuss a my goals and a racing strategy for the Eugene Marathon. I can't believe that Eugene is 18 days away. With my work schedule and a quick trip to Seattle planned, the next couple of weeks are going to fly by! Meeting with him today only fueled my excitement.

To be honest, I don't have a real goal for this race. My main goal is to PR. My second goal is to not fall apart in the last couple of miles like I did at CIM. My coach keeps reiterating that this is a development race for me and to not get myself worked up over it. I get SERIOUS race anxiety so I just need to take a chill pill and RELAX. My main goal is to someday break 3:00 in the marathon. My coach seems to think that with dedication I can achieve that goal in the next 1-2 years. He said even if I find out I don't like the marathon, I still have enough talent to break 3:00. That was a pretty nice confidence booster for me to hear him say that!

Based off of my recent training times and what I ran at CIM in December he has put together a solid race strategy for me. The first half of Eugene has a slight up hill that lasts for about 3 miles. Nothing major- I think over the course of 3 miles you only gain 50 feet in elevation (other wise the course is pancake flat). His plan for me is to run pretty slow for the first half- nothing faster than 7:40 miles. After that he wants me to slowly pick up the pace, running negative splits for each mile. The last 10 miles will probably hurt the most on my feet because the course switches from asphalt to concrete (Ouch! Hopefully that will be okay). If I can stick to that plan I should at least run a 3:15.

For fueling during the race the plan is for me to stop at every other aid station and just drink some gatorade at each stop. I typically don't drink a lot on my long runs so this should work fine for me. I will also have 2 gels with me to take (yes, they will both probably be peanut butter!!!!)

A 3:15 would be awesome. It would be a PR by about 6 minutes. I know that I can do it. I have worked so hard the last 12 weeks and I have put so much dedication into this training. I have stuck to my coach's plan 110%. I missed a few workouts because my body needed some rest, but other than that I averaged 50 mile weeks for my whole training program. That is the most miles I have run since college. I am ready to race smart and I am ready to continue working my tail off to achieve my overall dream. Someday I will break 3:00 in the marathon. #dreambig

--Tasha