Spring training: Week 17

Spring Training posts document my training for my "A" race, the Wisconsin Marathon half, on May 4.

The week, in training:

Monday: 3.5 miles
Tuesday: 6 miles +  BODYPUMP (taught)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 6 miles, intervals
Friday: 4 miles
Saturday: BODYPUMP (taught)
Sunday: 8 miles

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Holy effin shoot. It's here. The week I've been working toward for the past 17. It's been forever and yet, I'll be honest, I don't feel 100 percent ready. Like I could use another month of solid training before I toe the line for a half-marathon. 

But, shockingly, I don't have the ability to make race scheduling changes or turn back the clock. It is go time. 

And, as such, it's time to focus on what should happen. Or at least what I'd like to happen. Since I have been following the Train Like a Mother plan, I deemed it appropriate to use the book's model for setting race-day goals.

Good goals: The time ones.

• Goal C (so help me God): Sub-2
• Goal B (attainable yet challenging): Overall pace a sub-9
• Goal A (pie in the sky): Come in at 1:53:59 or faster, which would be at least a 13-second PR

When I started this training journey at the beginning of the year, it was my absolute goal to PR at Wisconsin and to PR in a big way. I was going to do plyometrics every week and nail the speedwork but time, scheduling, motivation and weather played a big factor. I spent much more time on the treadmill than I anticipated and, as such, have focused much of my speed training on effort rather than pace. Even as I am back outdoors, I'm much more concerned about how the work feels than what the numbers say. It makes me feel a bit uncertain about what I'm capable of. My long run paces of late, though, definitely point to a sub-2, if not the sub-9 pace. I feel confident in that. Only race day will tell whether I put in the work for the PR.

Better goals. These are the goals about how you execute the race but not necessarily from a numbers perspective. For me, for this race, my better goal is to pace myself and trust the training. It's so easy to go out too fast too early but very rarely does it work to bank time. I know that I perform much better when I run negative splits, and I need to ease into the hurt.  I also want to knock the Negative Nelly who resides in my post-partum brain straight on her ass. I am not the runner I used to be - the one who was so self assured - but I am a better one. I am stronger and more determined. And I need to remember that race day.

Best goals. The ones that, hopefully, matter most. I want to revel in the accomplishment - not just finishing but sticking out the training. I want to smile so much it hurts. I want to have a good time, soak in the scenes of somewhere new, embrace my friends at the finish line.

And, I'll apologize in advance to Kim, Kim, Bobbi, Sarah and everyone else - I'm a really stinky sweater.

T-minus 4 days.