AM - 5 miles. Horsepark.
Pre-TOU thoughts...
I went back and forth on running TOU a lot this year. I finally decided I was "in" for certain about 6 weeks ago, sent in my registration and put the race on my schedule. Andrea tried to talk me out of it a hundred times, and for the record - I agree with every reason she gave me about why I shouldn't run. There are a lot of risks here. Last year I yanked my hamstring in this race and had to shut down my season. That ended up being OK, as winning TOU was a nice cap to the year. This year, however, I have other goals for the next few months that are much more important.
I'll freely admit that running a marathon I haven't really specifically prepared for is not a good idea. I think I've done 6 long runs of 20+ miles this entire year (20 mile days are a lot different than 20 mile runs), and have almost completely neglected (by design) the longer MP tempos this summer. My primary goal this fall is to PR in the half-marathon at Indianapolis, so throwing in a mid-September marathon doesn't exactly jive with that plan. BUT on the other hand, I love this race and want to be a part of it. As defending champ, I feel somewhat obligated to get back on the line. In addition, I'm well-aware that simply finishing will probably get me the overall win in the USATF Circuit.
Anyways, we agreed to a certain set of rules that I'm going to try and hold myself to:
-This cannot be an all-out effort. Something around 2:28-2:30 would be ideal. The worst thing I can do is run 2:24 (enough to beat me up and set back my training).
-If anything hurts or bothers me, drop out immediately. There's no glory in running through (or creating) an injury.
-If anyone takes the pace out fast, let them go. Don't get caught up in the early stages of the race.
-Don't take the lead unless it's an effort to control the pace.
-If the pace is slower and I'm feeling good towards the end (last 5K), then go for it.
Those 5 rules add up to one over-arching theme: Don't be stupid.
The field is pretty stacked on paper - Scott Wietecha, Riley, Bryant Jensen, Brett Hales, and Seth Pilkington are the names I recognize, a couple Kenyans running who I don't know, and probably some others that I'm missing. Although with STG coming up in two weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if Riley/Bryant skipped this or use it as a workout.
Scott and I have talked strategy and we want to try and work together for a 1-2 finish. Ideally, the slower the pace the better - then go for the tape in the last 5-10K. Off a slow pace, I'm confident in my ability to finish strong if I'm in contention (like I did at Phoenix in March). I feel like I actually have a much better chance to win off a faster pace, but I'm not willing to do that kind of damage to my legs right now.
Who knows how this strategy will play out? All it takes is one guy to take it hard in the early stages of the race, and the plan immediately gets thrown out the window (that's why I'm writing and saving this post on Wednesday, but not clicking "publish" until after the race is over - not giving anyone any ideas!). If it goes faster early, which the more I think about it is actually almost a certainty with the amount of fast, competitive guys that will be on the line, I just have to keep my ego in check and let it go - run at a steady effort, get a good workout, and keep in mind my other goals for the fall.
In an ideal world, the race will be tactical and I'll have a chance at the end. In a more ideal world, I'll stick to the rules I outlined above. We'll see... hopefully I don't regret doing this.
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