Change of Plans!

So, as soon as I qualified for Boston, I knew that my goal was to run a sub 3:30 there.  I know I have a sub 3:30 in me, so I figured Boston would be a great place to do it.  After the Savannah marathon, I was slightly beat up from the concrete, so I decreased my mileage and even took two weeks off of running to knock out the aches and pain I was having.  Didn't work.  So, I ended up at the doctor who told me that I needed to do two weeks of aggressive hip stretching and no speedwork.  I could handle that; it would still give me almost 3 months to get ready for Boston.

Almost a month later, the hip pain is still there.  I'm able to run, which I'm thankful for, but have to stick around a 9 minute pace; if I go much faster, my hip hurts, but if I stay around 9, minimal pain.  Here's where the change of plans comes in.  As much as I would love to shoot for 3:30,  my body won't allow the training for it right now.  I am able to run slow and steady though, so I'm going to do high mileage (for me), get a lot of time on my feet, build up the endurance, and say to hell with speedwork!  I'm already hitting 40 miles a week and hope to start holding steady between 50 and 60 miles, with 4 to 5 runs per week.

My goal is no longer to run fast, but to make it to the start line.  If I feel great closer to race time, then I might go for it, but if not, I have a backup plan.  I'm going to take my camera, take tons of pics along the course, live it up, and see how long it can take me to do a marathon :-)  I also plan on taking a freezer pop from the kids and a beer from the college kids.  I mean it when I say I'll live it up!


That's the plan for now - high mileage, slow pace, and pray for health - I just think it'd be more fun to live it up while running a 3:30!