A Roll of the Dice

With five weeks before the Lansing Marathon, I am more nervous about this marathon than I’ve even been for any marathon. Every marathon except for Boston 10 I felt prepared with about five weeks left and was looking forward to my tapper in two weeks.* At this point in all of my previous training I had done at least two 20M long runs (typically 3), and this year I’ve only done one thus far. This time around I’m trying a two week tapper, only because starting late necessitated such a move.

My long runs have progressed in a positive manner every week, but the distances still seem formidable. If I had finished my 16M this week and though: ‘That was good I could have kept going for a few more miles;’ I’d be less worried. Instead I found myself thinking: ‘Ten more, NFW.’ And that is why this race seems like such a roll of the dice. Or, perhaps, I have insufficient training to gauge what to expect on race day. I anticipate I’ll be able to complete the distance, but underprepared to attempt to go for a BQ. I’ll have greater familiarity with the course than I have ever had. I’ll have had fewer miles on my shoes than ever before. In my favor, I’ve had the best winter/spring training weather any Michigander could ever hope for. Yet, my training times/splits have been slower than previous training sessions—especially considering my track workouts.

I’m improving, but I’m quickly running out of time.

* Go ahead, say it one more time, you are only training 14 weeks. Well, in case you didn’t know, Marathon Master Hal Higdon’s Boston Bound marathon training plan is only 12 weeks long so stop complaining.