Week 15 so far...

The folks in Karen's north performance project are on week 15.  It is just about 2 months until Austin Marathon.  This week has been pretty tame running wise.  I am mildly concerned that we are not running enough mileage but I qualified 2 years ago with a max of 43 miles in a week once and 2 20 mile runs.  This year I did 1 20 mile run and maxed out at 50 miles once before Austin and although I did not kill my self at AT&T I ran an 11 min negative split and requalified.  I barely got into the 40 mile/week range between Austin and Boston, did 1 22 mile run and ran a PR and qualified yet again.  

I am feeling pretty good about MGP right now and know I can run 13.1 hilly miles at sub MGP without much effort.  Yet, I can't let my guard down.  For me running a 3:20 is going to take a level of effort, focus and relaxation I have not yet encountered.  Sure the first AT&T where I qualified for Boston was an ugly fight for the last 4 miles.  But that tells me I can dig down and suffer if needed.

I believe I have my foot situation under control.  That too is going to take constant monitoring and adjustment of my stretching routine to keep it happy.

I ran a solid progressive run today and was able to kick up the pace at the end when I wasn't sure I could.  I don't have the luxery of a 3:20 train to run with - the folks who are in the 3:20 range in PP just don't seem to run at a consistant pace.  So, this is all about me.  I am taking 100% responsibility for my running and am going to use Steve's analogy of the WR marker they used in the Olympic swimming when I use the pace group at the marathon.