...when we ran our 1/2 marathon we both said, "We couldn't care less about our time, we just want to finish." And we did, with a 2:10:30 time---not fabulous but not the worst, either.
This time we said, "We couldn't care less about our time, we just don't want to die." We'd mentioned the 4:30:00 cut off as a respectable time, but we decided we didn't really care. And I firmly believed that statement until just now.
I was reading through some running blogs and stumbled upon this fact, which hit me like a ton of bricks.
Oprah Winfrey ran her first and only marathon back in 1997 in 4:29:20. Dude, I really want to beat Oprah. My inner competitive athlete just emerged while sitting at this computer and I thought, "If freaking Oprah can run sub 4:30 then so can we."
And just like that I've decided that I care about our time. So now it's out here on the blogosphere, which means it's really going to suck if we post a 5:00:00 marathon or something....but whatever. Right now I want to beat Oprah and come in under 4:20:00. That would be exactly 10 minute miles, which is our average, but it won't allow for any walking/puking/dying/crying time.
But when I'm near death and my legs are burning, I will just picture rich Oprah [who I happen to love, by the way] sitting on her talk show couch and bragging that she ran a 4:29 marathon. Because if I'll never meet the legend in real life, at least I can beat her in a marathon, right?
Does that make me psycho or just competitive? It's not like I care about beating any 'real' people, or friends, or other bloggers [I'm sure they'd all whip my 4:20:00 goal anyway]. Just Oprah.
And I still don't want to die, either. I hope that's not too much to ask.
Not wanting to die, might, just might be too much to ask!
ReplyDeleteLol, you're not psycho! You're the right mix of competitive.
I'd fricken want to be Oprah too.
Wait. Oprah ran a marathon??!!
ReplyDeleteIf she can do it, you definitely can do it. Nothing wrong with a healthy competitive streak!
LOL that cracked me up! Kick Oprah's ass! Nothing wrong with a little competition. : )
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I cannot believe that Oprah ran a sub-4:30. I'd kill for a time like that.
ReplyDeleteCheers on the half! My best half time is 2:20 (I'm slow) so I think your time is great!!
HAHA.
ReplyDeleteWe were the same way for our first marathon. We were like, "Shit, if Oprah can do that, WE CAN!"
And then we ran a 4:48... sigh.
You can do it! :)
My opinion is that, since Oprah is next to godliness, she actually slowed down the timer and cut out part of the terrain. Like her own little shortcut.
ReplyDeleteI would personally focus on the not-dying goal, but then again, I am NOT a runner!
Tasha, I love the explanation.
ReplyDeleteAnd Krista, if you ran a 4:48 then I'm bound to trail in at 5:00. But weren't you on the San Fran hills? That doesn't count.
Stupid Oprah!
From what I've read - they say it's best not to have a time goal for your first marathon, just to finish. That was my only goal - that I said outloud. A friend of mine ran the marathon the year before in just over 5 hours, and my secret goal was to beat her time. Yep, there, I said it. Even though it was a secret goal, it felt so damn good to acheive it. (but I promised myself I would not be dissappointed if I didn't beat her time, as long as I finished).
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I did that worked out really well for me was, after my 18 mile runs I saw how fast I 'ran' (shuffled) thru, I didn't look at the watch while running and just focused on finishing at a 'natural' pace. After the run I saw how fast I 'ran' and then kind of used that as my basis for trying to pace myself in the actual marathon. The other thing I did - that was my smartest move, was I ran with one of those 'pace team' type people (I dont know if your marathon has them, but if they do, use it!) I didn't sign up for it but I figured out which one was closest to my 18 mile run per mile time (I'd pick a slower pace group rather then faster pace group) and I promised myself to stay with the group until mile 22, then I could go faster if I wanted to. I can't tell you how painfully slow it felt like we were running and all I wanted to do was go go go! (at least for the first 20 miles or so) but, it all worked out perfectly at the end because I was able to enjoy the run and not focus on the times...I just ran with the group. Took the thought/pressure out, and helps because the adrenaline is/was like nothing else (at least for me). Plus, I ran negative split, and passed a whole bunch of people in the last few miles (which felt awesome) wow. I am sorry I wrote so much but I could talk running ALL DAY. Keep us posted on your training! I love it! Good Luck!! (oh and I love all your new gear! Keep treating yourself, it makes all the running more fun!)