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Be Honest With Yourself...

Thursday, 02 April 2015 01:10

The Truth About IM Running

By Mike McHale (mchale76triathlon.blogspot.com)

Truth #1:  I do NOT know the truth about Ironman running.
Truth #2:  Be honest.
Truth #3:  Sometimes I forget about the Alamo.

So my question is (and was) a simple one:  How fast should I run the IM marathon?  Ask 5 coaches and you'll likely get 5 answers.  Ask 5 athletes and you might get 10 answers (think about that one...).  Bottom line, pacing the early part of the marathon is critical to the success of your finish.  This is assuming you've paced the bike correctly, which is another huge assumption....

Long story short:  Be honest.

My open marathon PR is 2:58...but I'm not that guy any more.  Last year, lining up for Lake Placid, my deep dark secret was the I could run a 3:30-3:45 split.  I reality, I was probably in 3:30-3:45 OPEN marathon shape.  But in the back of my mind was my ego.  I'm a sub 3 hour marathoner.  But not anymore, Bud...I wasn't being honest with myself.  So in hind sight, I overcooked the bike a little, and now I am willing to admit that I was a little over zealous on the run.  All the more information and data to go into the brain to help build the machine for next time.

If I do plan to run a 3:30 IM split, I think I need to get my half marathon time back down into the lower 1:20s.  So that journey begins as I target a spring half marathon with a goal time of 1:30-1:35.

The weather has turned cold and I think we're in for another brutal winter in the midwest.  But once again, I'm looking forward to winter training.  I always think it's one of my super-secret powers: training in conditions no one else wants to, or is willing to train in.  It's like Rocky going to train in Russia in Rocky IV.   Plus, this year I picked up some cross country skis.  Viva la'winter...

ED. Mike McHale is a HOOT! Check out his blog - mchale76triathlon.blogspot.com)