140%

The marathon is 50% physical and 90% mental.

- Amby Burfoot

Ok, the math doesn't work out so nicely, but the take-away message is that a lot of racing is in your head. If you don't think you can do something, you definitely won't. If you trust in your training and don't doubt yourself, you just might (within reason... I can believe that I'm going to break 2hrs in a marathon by training in a weight vest all I want, but reality dictates otherwise). However, if I put in the training to BQ (like actually put in the training and have some race results to back it up), I shouldn't doubt that I will 1-mile in shoot myself in the foot by trying to "bank" time for when I die. Sound familiar? I know that I personally have run a few (ok, many) races like this. I mean, that anecdote looks good on paper, and Amby Burfoot's words sounds reasonable, but he's an elite athlete!

This is where I always run into trouble when reading advice from the "top". It's easy for them to say trust in your training... be more concerned with health vs. mileage and pace... they've run more miles in one week than I might hit in double that time... and at a pace that I might be able to hang at for a 1/4-mile! So yes, I've "listened" and "read" for a few years, and then completely ignored their advice because I am not them. However, after doing the same thing over and over with the same results, I decided to maybe try something different (because it's silly to do the same thing and expect different results). And, ya know, what they say kind of works for just "normal" runners too:

1. Starting with the second point, I finally decided to trust that I wouldn't forget the 3.5+ months of training that I put in when I got to the start line of my last marathon. I followed my plan, and actually managed to PR. This was in contrast to my previous two attempts, where I got nervous that my legs would suddenly turn to jello, and banked 3-5min in the first half only to crash and burn in the second. So, trusting in your training apparently works.

2. Speaking to the first point, I ran the exact same marathon two years in a row. One year, I really only got in 2.5-months of training (and one 20-miler) because my IT Band was "bugging me" early on. The next year, I easily ran 100 more miles in preparation, at a faster pace, with more long runs (I was definitely in better shape). I ran ~3.5min slower the second year (and no, it was not the weather, in fact, this race marks the fastest marathon ever run). The difference- I was exhausted the 2nd year. I was so concerned with making sure I stuck to my training plan that I ignored the fact that I was dead ~3 weeks out. Guess what, no one races well when they're not healthy!

So, take this for what you will. Reading this article "reminded" me of some of my new training/racing "philosophies" (haha... I don't philosophize... I've just run out of other things to try), so I figured I'd let y'all ignore a "normal" runner for a bit!