OUTSIDE OBSERVER

Wow, I was starting to think that Bloggerland was fading away. There hasn’t been much action lately and not too many comments. I guess my posts were just boring as hell. That’s alright.

Just to make it clear that I don’t have this marathon thing mastered, here are the splits from all my marathons;

1:36/1:44 TCM 1996
1:32/1:45 Gma’s 1997
1:35/1:51 TCM 1997
1:30/1:33 Gma’s 2001
1:30/1:31 TCM 2001
1:28/1:35 Boston 2002
1:30/1:28 Whistlestop 2002
1:44/2:07 Boston 2004
1:29/1:40 Gma’s 2005

As usual, Evan had some good thoughts on the topic. Speaking of Evan, check out his photos of the Griak Invite and TCM.

I was trying to think about my blog as an outside observer this morning. I’m not one to shy away from questioning someone’s training when something jumps out at me. As an outside observer of myself I’d say, “How the hell is this guy going to break 3 hours let alone run 2:55 at Chicago? He runs nearly 9:00 pace for his easy days. He tries to run mile repeats at 6:10 pace, but only runs 6:15 pace. He struggles to run sub-7 pace for 3 miles. He just ran a half marathon and barely broke 1:30. I’m just going to read along and watch this train wreck unfold.”

I know it doesn’t look good on paper, er, monitor. However, for some reason I’m confident I’ll run well at Chicago. I may not run 2:55, but I think something is going to have to go drastically wrong for me not to run well. And by “well” I mean smart, like the stretch of marathons I ran in 2001 and 2002.

Maybe I’m confident because my training isn’t really different from any other marathon training I’ve done. I’ve always run slower on my easy days, compared to other 3-hour runners. I’ve never put too much stock in hitting exact splits for workouts. I’m more of an “in the ballpark” kind of guy. I’ve always considered marathon pace to be tough, in training, especially if I’m running solo. So maybe there’s hope after all. Heck, based on mileage, I’m better off than ever before.

There's only one way to find out.

There’s a “running” blog that a lot of runners probably don’t read – mainly because Will doesn’t write about running much. He went to UW-EC a few years after me. He’s a damn fine runner and an even better writer. Check out his account of his recent Lakefront performance.

Quote of the day;

“And all was well, I tell you. The crowds cheered. They laughed and sang at my 666 jersey, chanting my name (and the devil's)…I was king of my own modest goals.” – Will, during the Lakefront Marathon