Preface to a Race

Before I get into any of the race stuff itself, I wanted to just say some things.

First off, as you know by a previous post, I had my A, B, C and D goals. What I didnt tell you was what they were.

Well you know what D was: Finish

Goal A: 4:30. This is what I have been training at, and I knew I wasn't going to get it due to the difficulty of the course and my limited hill training due to a nagging knee over the past couple of months.

Goal B: 4:40 - 4:45

Goal C: 4:50 - 4:59:59

I knew EXACTLY what average pace it would take to achieve each. And I knew EXACTLY what I couldn't go over so that I would miss my sub 5.

Now I know that several people have posted and emailed to the effect of: enjoy the race. enjoy the experience. Dont worry about time, etc. And while that was appreciated, it was not really an option. Not to say that I didnt want to do ALL of those things but ultimately I trained. I trained hard and I was NOT going to New York to just do mediocre. If something went wrong, then so be it. But there was no way in hell that I was going to just go into it without some heavy expectations of myself and that I wasnt going to do whatever I had to, to achieve it and I knew that NO MATTER WHAT, barring an injury mid-race, that I would push and push through anything that I had to to get what I wanted.

And what I felt like I rightly deserved.

Thankfully I didnt have to do any of that, and on Sunday all the planets, stars and everything else were aligned just right (and some welcomed mid-race text messages by many tracking me), with a pre-planned strategy for mile 16, and I was able to stay strong and focused...

I know not everyone has the same aspirations I do when it comes to my running and thats quite alright. Everyone is different. I have fallen in love with this sport and it means a lot to me and I like what I have accomplished.

And if you think this is the end of any goals, then you had better think again... :o)