In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy NYRR has released this statement:
The Marathon has always been a special day for New Yorkers as a symbol of the vitality and resiliency of this City. NYRR continues to move ahead with its planning and preparation.
I don’t know where I stand. The devastation is horrifying and I would hate for those who are working hard to recover to feel that the marathon is insensitive. On the other hand, the marathon is and has always been a time for New Yorkers to rally together. The city stops year after year to celebrate runners and cheer them on. Strangers share smiles and laughter, funny signs and encouragement with 45,000 runners. There is a big piece of me that thinks we need that teamwork right now.
From last year … but true year after year.
Personally and admittedly very selfishly, I want to run. I have lots of training in the bank and as I’ve mentioned before I’m itching to run … Also. Marathon Day is my birthday and you know what … I want a party 
So lets talk about goals. Here is the whole truth My A. B and C goals for this marathon.
Starting with my A Goal. Or as the Lululemon team loves to call it, my BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal)
A. Qualify for Boston by running 3:35 or better
- I need to run at 8:10/mile pace or better to safely qualify.
- This is what I have trained for. This is what I have set all of my speed work to.
- I want this achievement. I know I have years to qualify … but patience isn’t my strong suit
- It feels realistic, but hard.
- My only concern is my starting position. I have a late corral (boo NYRR. You placed me incorrectly and wont fix it …) and I feel like the minutes/seconds that I may lose in the start will make or break my time.
- I know that I will have to push myself through some tough miles but I look forward to that.
Embrace the Hurt …
B. Run 3:40 or better
- I will need to run 8:24/mile or better to make this goal
- Given the pace of my long runs and the race day excitement I feel like this one is attainable.
- This goal gives me wiggle room to not stress about my starting position
- This is the only time in life that I wish I were turning older on my birthday. 3 years to be exact. At age 35 the Boston qualifying time is 3:40 rather than 3:35
C. PR by running faster than 3:48
{My current marathon PR is 3:48 in last years NYCM (recap here) }
- I will need to run 8:40/mile or better
- Barring any major issues I think that this one is very attainable.
- A PR is a PR … and I will be proud of myself no matter what amount I PR by.
As you can see, all of my goals are time related. I’m being honest with myself by saying that this marathon is about time for me. That said, I know I will have a blast. I know that NYC will turn out one heck of a 5 borough party and I’m not at all worried about missing out on the fun by focusing on time. I look so forward to seeing my friends and family out there, I Can. Not. Wait. to hear the G’s yell “Mama!” and I know that I will tear up at the encouragement that strangers will give me as I run.
That is the spectacular thing about the NYC Marathon … there is no way you are going to miss the fun.
Most importantly I know that I will cross the finish line on Sunday with an immense amount of pride. Pride for my city for being tough, pride for my fellow New Yorkers for being resilient, pride for my family for encouraging me every single day and pride for myself for pushing beyond my comfort zone …
Take Pride NYC.
How about the rest of you NYCM runners. Yay marathon on Sunday, or think they should postpone? How is your motivation and enthusiasm?
The starting position is unfortunate but you can still succeed. Don’t allow yourself to be frustrated and waste precious energy in the first miles weaving in and out. Know ahead of time that it will not be ideal and accept it. Don’t freak out if your first 5 miles aren’t at pace. You are strong and have trained well. You CAN negative split! In the last 5-10 miles I find that it always hurts. If I’m running fast/slow/whatever. So I play a mind game. It will hurt no matter what, but if I run faster, the hurting stops sooner. Works for me. I’m guessing you will be able to run sub-8 for the last 6 miles. Be confident, don’t over analyze your splits and HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much Tara. I am hoping that the start position thing is all in my head … you are so right, I need to remain calm at the start and not go out too fast, maybe the crowds will actually be a blessing.
I’ve not commented before, but I wanted to wish you luck on your race! As a mom with two young kiddos, you totally inspire me. I, too, have aspirations of qualifying for Boston someday, but always thought I had to wait until the girls were older before really going after it. However, since running a half marathon and setting a new PR of 1:45:42 this fall, and watching how you manage to balance distance runs with parenting, I may really try next year! Also, I learned that in order to BQ you have to run the qualifying time based on the age you’ll be when you run Boston. Since I have a March birthday, that works out very well for me, and I’ll just need that 3:40 time! Anyway, have a blast and I’ll be rooting for you!
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Hi Sarah! That is an amazing half time. Congratulations!! You should go for that BQ, you absolutely have it in you.
Gia, I love that you split this race into 3 separate goals for yourself! I think that it’s a wonderful idea, because I have had so many friends set one “ultimate” time goal for themselves, and then they end up extremely upset if they don’t make it – even if they are just seconds away from that goal. I love that you have given yourself a little buffer room – I think that it will help you to be less stressed through the race! Good luck and I can’t wait to see how it all turns out!
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I’ve been reading your blog for quite awhile but have never commented. This past June, I started training for my first marathon and have found your blog to be such an inspiration! I’m nowhere near as fast of a runner as you are, but I look forward to being a part of the crowd with you this Sunday as we run New York! I myself have struggled with excitement vs. selfishness for this race, but since it is my first marathon and I truly believe that it’s events like this that brings people together, I am so fully in support of the race going on. Best of luck to you– I can’t wait to read your recap and see which goal you’ve achieved!
Those are awesome goals, Gia! I always try to have 3 goals for a big race too. It’s going to be quite a party on Sunday – I’ll be cheering at the finish line (and volunteering as an interpreter, if any Italian runners make it to NYC in time) and I can’t wait to celebrate my city with so many people who love NY!
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I think you’re going to do really well this weekend based on your fantastic training cycle! NYRR also messed up my corral. I know people whose personal bests are 30 minutes slower than mine, but they are starting a wave ahead of me. It’s ridiculous. I don’t know how NYRR does the corrals, but I can only guess that runners are lying big time about their predicted finish time. Since starting position is now beyond our control, I wouldn’t even give it another second of thought. Don’t bother to weave and add distance to the course while you run up the bridge in mile 1. The slower runners will naturally drop off you with no added effort due to the incline. Best of luck!
Sending you tons of speedy thoughts for Sunday!!!
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You trained so hard. I really want you to go to Boston! I think you can do it! The Malibu International Marathon is next weekend Sunday Nov 11. It’s a BQ race and registration is still open (not full yet):
http://www.malibuintmarathon.com/coursemap.htm
I have no idea what you would do in this situation. You’re peaking but is next weekend too soon?