Upcoming Race Goal

    I woke up this morning to a mix of rain, hail, and snow.  I think this might be a record early arrival for snow on Long Island.   I am not a cold weather person,  I may need to relocate in the near future.  Anyway this post is supposed to be about how motivated I got while watching the NYC Marathon yesterday.  It's a good thing the weather held off till today, these would have been nasty conditions for the race.  

    So I was watching the race all morning and realizing, like most runners who were watching I'm sure , that these elite women run 26.2 miles a hell of a lot faster than my 5k pace. They ran the 23rd mile in 4:58, that is insane!  I mentioned to Matt, at some point during the first few miles, that they made my 5k time look embarrassing.  His response, "No, look at that group of elite runners, it is minuscule  compared to the 45,000 people running the race."  He did have a point, especially since this group was made up of women from all over the world.   

    I did decide though, that if they could run that fast for that long, then I could absolutely lower my 5k time.  I am entirely motivated and determined!  I originally wanted sub-22 for my Thanksgiving race, but I am now aiming for 21:30.  Just about a minute faster than my last race and equal to a 6:55 pace.    Completely for fun I checked out what my marathon time would be if I could actually hold that pace ~ 3:01:26 :D  For now I'll concentrate on the 5k ;)  My ultimate goal is sub- 20, hopefully by June, I want to finish my sprint triathlon strong!

    Also, I loved watching Shalane rock that race!  I remember following her when she was in H.S. and college,  she graduated 2 years ahead of me.  Her mom also runs this great site PrettySporty, were she publishes photos from many college cross-country races.  I was also rooting for Dathan Ritzenhien, whom I had a major H.S. crush on :)  He came in 8th, not bad against all those Kenyans and Ethiopians.

'99 + '00 HS Footlocker National Champion Ritz

Shalane Rocks! (Not a NYC pic)

  So there you have it, I have 17 days to prepare for my upcoming race and I am not holding back!  21:30 or bust :D  I need to get a few speed days in this week, maybe some mile repeats (scared face).