Looking for a PR on Sunday

So, Sunday, while all of St. Louis is awash in the giddiness of hosting the Major League Baseball All Star Game, I will be working to achieve a PR in the 5K. The MLB Charity 5K Run will be the event where I push myself. I have already PR'd this summer but I am looking to PR on the 1/2 marathon in September (sub 2 hours) so each race now is an incremental movement toward that goal. I always run faster in races than on training runs. I have had some good training runs the past two weeks so I'm looking for a positive effect here. I'm also going to be testing ideas here about prerace hydration and fueling and pacing during the race. All of these are issues that will serve me in the longer run for sure but may have an effect here as well.

I have to say that when I got back into running earlier this year I was totally disheartened and began to feel as though my time had passed. I was too old to do this any more I thought. I struggled to complete my training runs and everything was disappointing if not downright painful. If it were not for the encouragement of others I might have totally given it up. I honestly don't know why or how the breakthrough came. But, it finally did!

I haven't scheduled my marathon yet. It won't be this season. But, that's one big thing I have left to do. I have actually completed two marathons in the technical sense. From the standpoint of getting it done, I did. But both were very unsatisfying in that they didn't represent my best effort. Preparation for a marathon is a long, tedious and difficult process and before each of these two races life got in the way. I ran the Chicago marathon in 2007 and the race was stopped when I was at the 17 mile point because of the extreme heat. My daughter and I ran the additional mileage along North Lakeshore Drive so we logged the 26.1 miles and we got our medals to show for our effort. But that was kinda like kissing your sister. I feel like I was "mostly" prepared for this race but I hadn't really completed the training like I wanted to and was a bit nervous about my preparedness. The second attempt was St. Louis 2008. This time I almost declined to run. I had gained about 20 pounds and my preparation for this race was horrific. I just ran because I had already paid the fee. After about 15 miles I was feeling pretty good - on pace for a 5 1/2 hour run. Then, I got blisters on both feet and barely made it to the finish line before they took it down. Yes, I got a medal for the effort but limped back to the car embarrassed for my lack of genuine effort.

This time will be better. I am following the training regimen to the letter. I have added weight training to the process. I am already at my "running weight" so things will only get better from here on out. I have discovered an eating plan that seems to fit my exercise plan. I am running faster now than ever. I do not have anything on the schedule between now and September 13th that will stand in the way of my continuing ALL of the above.

Most importantly, I think, is that I have made myself accountable by telling lots of people what my plan is. Now on hard days when I don't feel like getting out to run or to the gym to work out, I know that there are people who will ask how my training is going. I certainly don't want to have to tell them that it's not - for whatever reason.

Forward into the fray. Tomorrow the victory will be mine!