Thursday, December 18, 2008
A Letter...
Dear Anonymous Commenter,
I realize this is a little awkward, since we don't know each other... but, I wanted to take a moment and officially thank you.
When you first started doing McMillan Calculations for my race times, I was grateful, but also a little cynical. Hmph. I thought. There is NO WAY I can run a 4:16 marathon. And then... a 4:09 marathon??? ARE YOU CRAZY? But then yesterday, when I got your comment about my new 5k PR time estimating a 3:59 marathon time... I fell in love with you.
I mean, hot damn! 3:59:10. That is just sick and twisted and perverted and downright insane and I immediately went to McMillan to check it out for myself. I mean, sure... I believed you, but I had to see it for my own eyes. I generally try to avoid the McMillan calculations... it's almost like porn for me. I look at all the times and see what I COULD be doing and it just makes me realize that I'm NOT doing it right now... and I feel dirty and shameful and go take a cold shower and vow never to return again.
But yesterday... I looked and I realized the reason I'm not running at those speeds, is because I've never really tried. I realize that McMillan isn't Nostradamus and just because these calculations suggest that I could (with the right training) possibly run a 3:59 marathon right now, it's not guaranteed. Every runner is different. But... it has lit a fire under my ass.
Thanks to you and your optimism and belief in me (even though you don't know me and don't know how my love of nachos and my record of underachieving in life will likely derail my ambitions), I've decided to go for it. I'm going to use the pacing from McMillan to train for the first phase of my marathon training and to test it out... I'm going to shoot for a sub 2:00 Half Marathon in February (and if I don't make it then... there's always the other Half Marathon in March or I could just fail... which, I'm used to and can handle).
The paces look totally doable... just out of my comfort zone, a little. It's time for me to get serious and aim high. If it doesn't work out or I feel like I'm pushing myself beyond my limits, then I'll scale back and go back to my regular training and plodding. But, I'm very, very excited about this possibility.
So, thank you, Anonymous Commenter... thank you for reminding me of McMillan and for doing all those calculations for me (cause I was too scared and lazy to).
We'll see what happens...
Love,
Amy
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8 comments:
your blog is feel good......
Its hard to push outside the comfort zone but once you do it is totally worth it! Good luck with your training!
You're welcome! If I'm ever in TN, surely we'll meet, and if you're ever running in Dallas and blog about it in advance, we'll be sure to meet then too! Or maybe someday we'll both make it to Boston and meet there! It's fun watching your progress. I feel the same way about McMillan, but I never go so far as to swear off it. Sometimes a PR will actually be disappointing for me b/c one of my other race distances predicts I should have been able to run it even faster (but the PR glow usually trumps that). But overall, I think McMillan and yassos are the best predictors. I think 2009 will be a year full of PRs, bling, and great runs for you! Good luck, I'll be reading!
It is SOO doable Amy!! Seriously, I was just like you....I never thought I could run a sub 4:15 and then I did on my second marathon. I never thought I could do a sub 4 hour....and then I did with the right speed work. It really does truly work. The key is getting out of your comfort zone. Just try it...that's all I did and I ran my sub 4 hour. Then I beat the snot out of my best 1/2 marathon. I totally give credit to track work, tempo runs and intervals. You just have to go get in just a little bit of pain. I even coached myself :=)
So get serious and aim high and believe that you can do it!! That's all I did and I made it!! Good luck!!
oh wow..you go girl!
I wish I had anonymous commenters like that. Good luck on your pursuit. If you are running the Country Music Marathon I will be 30 minutes behind you. Keep that fire lit. Boston is right around the corner!
Alright, I'm headed over to the McMillan website and DREAM.... Unfortunately in my advanced age and after 3 babies, I have to calculate in potty stops in anything over a 10K. Messes up those predictions a bit...
I thought the picture of your mom and aunt back in the day was amazing. I hope my kids follow in my footsteps in running, too.
McMillan works. BUT, it takes a hell of lot of work to get the times to shake out.
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