With that in mind, I'm happy to have had a strong start on that goal with the Derry 16M last week. I already blogged about it a bit on the club website, so I won't repeat the details. I was pleased to hold up well mentally over the last few miles, winning a little redemption from the embarrassment at Applefest (no you didn't miss a post--it was so bad I just never blogged about it). On the other hand, I was daunted that I ended up needing that mental reserve; my legs were wasted by the end, and it was pretty clear to me that, mental toughness aside, I wouldn't have been able to keep running more than another mile or two, forget 10.
That's not entirely surprising, as this snowy winter has kept my mileage way down--I've only been in the mid 30s these last few weeks.
Derry Mile 6
Mile 13
With all that in mind, here's a rough calendar of long races for 2011:
Old Fashioned 10 Miler (certain) 2/20 : last year went well. Hopefully I can live up to it this time around.
Hyannis Half Marathon (certain) 2/27: I've raced twice in Hyannis, one half, one full, neither successful. I'm going to turn it around this time!
DRB 50K (tentative) 4/17 : did this on a lark last year after my running friends from W. Va visited. I wasn't very serious about it and dropped out after 25K. Would like to return and finish the darned thing. I just have to come to terms with the pace that goes with the terrain, and the fact that, for this particular style of race, walking != fail.
Vermont City Marathon (certain) 5/29: It took me a year to get excited about running another marathon! At last I am, and I'm going to rock the shit out of this one! Burlington VT, here I come!
Highland Sky 40M (strong tentative) 6/18: How awesome would it be to go do an epic trail run, and visit my W. Va friends, all in one trip! I'm not sure how it'll play out, but I'll have a ruddy go at it--unless after Vermont City, I think my body is just physically unready for it.
Applefest Half Marathon (tentative) 10/1: I couldn't stand it if 2010 were my last mark on this race, but I'm not quite prepared to sign up for it again. Hopefully after Hyannis I'll be filled with confidence and ready to tear it up.
Mount Desert Island Marathon 10/16 (pure speculation): A friend mentioned this to me, and I went "oh, THAT race!" I had heard about it before and been really intrigued. I mean--the race has a fjord! What more could you want! Unfortunately the field is so small that I'll probably have to sign up soon if I really want to do it--I don't know yet, so we'll have to see. (any of you readers run it before?)
To get ready for all this distance awesomeness, it's apparent to me that I need more base. Like, lots more. Through a highly non-scientific process, I have seized on 70 miles as a peak marathon training volume, which I want to do running 6 times a week, no doubling up. I think if I can do that, then that BQ marathon time will just come naturally.
