Just gonna put this out there

In a couple of my previous blog posts, I alluded to a big marathon time goal I had in mind for the coming year. I am signed up for California International Marathon on December 2, which will then lead me to training (hopefully, if I make the cut off) for the Boston Marathon on April 15. I met my goals in my two marathons for this past season, qualifying for Boston with a pretty big cushion (5:07 under my qualifying time), and after experiencing that success and dialing in the training that seems to work for me, I am itching to see just how far I can take my running fitness.

I love having big goals. I love seeing success and knowing that when I put my mind to something and work hard, I can achieve my goals. It hasn't always been that way, but it was this year and I am still on a big time high from it. I want to keep going!

But I was extremely hesitant to put it out there just what I came up with for a goal. Many people keep that to themselves, or are really vague about it for fear of failure. After the Louisiana Marathon, I gained a confidence I didn't think I possessed and I'm not fearful of failure. Sure, I could totally fail, but I'm actually okay with that. As long as I feel I did everything in my power to succeed, then I still find that to be a success much more than a failure. I'm ready to talk about what my time goals are.

Here's why.

I have been following professional athlete Gwen Jorgensen for awhile now. I first heard of her when she won the Olympic gold medal in the triathlon at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She was just absolutely fierce and dominating and I was totally drawn to her. To celebrate her victory, she ran the New York City Marathon....in 2:41!!! She wasn't even properly trained for it and still absolutely killed it. A new professional marathoner was born. She has since retired from pro triathlon and switched gears to the marathon, with the goal of winning gold in Tokyo in 2020. Freaking lofty-as-shit goals right there, and completely inspiring.

She was interviewed for Sports Illustrated recently. She's taken a bit of flack for her goal of not just making the Olympic team, or getting a medal, but actually saying she wants to win gold. After all, she's nowhere near ready. But she's working as hard and as smart as she can to make the qualifying standard, run the Trials, make the team, and win that Olympic marathon. HUGE FREAKING GOALS. A quote from the interview stands out to me:

That was a bold statement of mine. It’s not a statement to put down anyone else. It was a statement to hold me accountable. For me, when I say a big goal, it’s out there and it makes me get up every day. I’m reminded and confronted with that goal.

So I decided that perhaps to hold myself accountable to what is in store for me in the coming months, it's time for me to say what my goal is.

Let's backtrack a bit. Originally, my goal this past year was to qualify for Boston 2019. I needed to run 3:55 to do so, but in order to actually make the cutoff or have a remote shot at that, I needed to break 3:52. I ran 3:49:53 in Louisiana, giving me a 5:07 cushion, which should absolutely be enough to gain entry.

Goal accomplished.

But I have no plans to just show up at Boston and "run for fun." If I busted my butt to earn the right to start as a qualifier, you can be damn sure I'm going to put everything I have into that race and do my absolute best.

So then my goal began to take shape.

I went back and forth from just getting a PR and re-qualifying for 2020, to maybe running 3:45, to breaking 8:30 pace (3:42). Nothing seemed quite right to me.

Then I took another look at the qualifying standards for the New York City Marathon, which are notoriously brutal. You have to have some serious speed relative to your gender and age to gain a time qualifier spot.

Challenge accepted.

I need to run 3:38 as a 45 year old to qualify for New York. That's 8:19 pace and a nearly 12-minute PR.

I have seriously lost my mind.

But there you have it. A couple friends knew this was what I was planning, but now I put it out there for all to see. I'm not exactly sure what my CIM goal will be, but I know that I need to PR in that race on my way to 3:38 in Boston. I also have two half marathons in October and January that will serve as a test of my fitness. I need to work diligently in the gym on my strength, and be consistent out on the roads throughout the Texas summer. I need to get leaner (every pound makes a difference, but it must be done without muscle loss). I have my work cut out for me.

Gwen has also been quoted as saying, "I'm somebody who's motivated by big challenges, and I'm motivated when I put the goal out there...It holds me accountable."

Truth