Chicago Marathon, Goals

I am ready, ready, ready, ready, ready to run (Dixie Chicks, anyone? Running playlist, anyone?) the Chicago Marathon because I am so ready, ready, ready, ready, ready to stop over-thinking marathoning. The miles. The fuel. The distance. The sleep. The pace. The million things that could go wrong. The million things that can't possibly go wrong. I am o-v-e-r this. This final week of easy runs and monitoring every jag (or worse, cough) has turned me into a crazy person (i.e., crazier than I was previously). I'm crumbling under the self-induced pressure. On Sunday, I must rise... I have enjoyed training, much more so than I previously imagined possible. Let the marathon be a celebration of all the miles run to train for The Race.

That said, I have some goals.

Goal A: 3:32:XX – This time will ensure I qualify for the Boston Marathon, I think. Though I technically only need a 3:35:00 finish time to meet the women's Qualifying Standard for the 18-34 age group, fewer and fewer runners are "squeaking in" to Boston as the field increases in competitiveness. For example, the 2015 field is set, and those women in my age group who did not run at least 3:33:12 were left out of the mix. For the numbers geeks out there, this article answers the questions posed by those trying to qualify for Boston 2016. So with that, I present this Goal A finish time, in hopes of "guaranteeing" my entrance to the iconic Boston Marathon. With the hours of training and miles logged, this is a feasible A+ day.

I'm also have my competitive spirit on my side, which rarely gives up on me. I'm physically ready for Goal A, mentally... well, there are still 20 hours to go.

Goal B: 3:40:00 – This is the pace the majority of my long runs have averaged. All along I have said if I miss qualifying for Boston, I'm likely only to miss it by a couple of minutes (or even seconds, in the case presented above). I know I can run this pace and absorb the atmosphere. This pace will allow for lots of fun while crossing 'finish a marathon' off my Bucket List.

Goal C: Finish. Though I've set my sights higher and I'm thinking positive, positive, positive, tortoise or hare, I'm going to be proud of finishing.

At 7:30 am on Sunday, October 12, the gun will sound in Chicago and I will run. I've always appreciated running for the simplicity in lacing up and taking off.