CIM - Training Cycle Recap + Goals for Race Day
It’s race week! It’s amazing how different I feel going into race week this season than I did in the Spring heading into Grandma’s Marathon. I was so excited in the Spring for the training cycle to and the race to be done that I completely checked out and didn’t even want to race. I wasn’t really present on race day or in the final weeks of training and it honestly, kinda sucked. Right now, I’m excited to put myself out there on Sunday and see what I’ve got. This is a great sign that I didn’t overdo it and am in a good space mentally.
This training cycle has been a bit unconventional due to the rocky start I had with fatigue and low B12. I was worried early on that I wouldn’t be able to hit a good weekly mileage or do enough to get as fit as I needed to be in the shortened time frame. But, just as I learned last training cycle that I don’t need 6 months to train for a marathon, that was solidified in the fitness I’ve built in just a 12 week program this season. After hitting a huge PR in the half at the Santa Clarita Half Marathon 4 weeks ago, I know now that I can be a runner who finds success in shorter builds. As I get older, it’s exciting to know that I don’t have to spend as much time in focused marathon training (both mentally and physically).
I did a few things differently this cycle, and have talked about this more in my YouTube series, but to name a few things:
Nutrition - more focused with the help of Paula, Inside Tracker, and the many things I learned from the book, Roar.
Marathon pace runs following a long run - this really helped my body get comfortable running fast when I was tired and built confidence.
Strength - I worked religiously on this. I saw Dr. Sebastian from Performance Place to work through the weakness I had in my left hip. I saw him 3 times this cycle to get new exercises to continue building strength and have had zero pain in my hip or hamstring as a result.
Now for the GOALS!
If you’ve read any of my previous goal posts, you know I do try to have more than one because anything can happen on race day and it can be easy to get disappointed and discouraged when you fall off track. That being said, I haven’t felt like having more than one goal has helped me much in the past. I’m so focused on breaking that 3 hour barrier right now that I feel a bit blinded by it. However, I had such an AWFUL race experience at Grandma’s because of my poor decisions during the race and not being able to surrender that specific time goal that I’m really focusing on a few key things to keep me in check and to ensure I stay in the fight as long as possible:
A Goal: PR. This was my A goal for Grandma’s, and if I’d made better decisions, it might’ve been achieved. I don’t want to miss a PR opportunity, so this is my number one goal. If that’s a 1 minute PR or the 8 minute PR I’ve been training for, so be it. Any PR will make me happy.
B Goal: 2:59 or better. I realized early on this cycle that I was obsessing over the number 3 and getting stuck on it because of this “sub 3” goal. My goal is not to finish with a time that starts with a 3. About 10 weeks ago, I put a post-it note on my bathroom mirror that said “2:59 at CIM” and a huge piece of paper above the sink in our kitchen that said 2:59. I want a 2 in front of my marathon time, so I wanted that 2:59 to be visually engraved in my brain.
C Goal: Negative split. Always a goal for me, rarely achieved. This is a great race to accomplish this at with the hills on the front end and the fast, flat back half.
My ultimate goal for CIM is to run a smart race. I know that will allow me to accomplish at least one, if not all of my goals. I don’t want to feel regret about pushing when I should’ve stayed the course, or going out too fast. This is the most challenging part of the marathon - a smart, well executed race is rare. But I’m hopeful to have that magic on Sunday.
If you’d like to track, check out the link below! Bib # is 8642!
Thank you all for the support along this journey once again!
J
