Managing (running) expectations (Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon race report)

By any objective criterion, I should be extremely satisfied with my time for the Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon two weekends ago. My time was more than 23 minutes faster than that of my two previous marathons (2012 Baltimore Marathon and 2011 Marine Corps Marathon). For this, I thank my road runners club's Winter Marathon Program; all that volume and those Sunday LSDs made the difference! My basic goal for the race was not to have to do those 4-5 minute walks, interspersed with the run, in the last 10K. I still walked but began later in the race and for much shorter duration. Up through Mile 19, I kept a fairly consistent target pace of ~9:30. Miles 20 and 21 were transitional. The last five miles are obviously where more work is needed for the next race.

Still, I largely achieved the goal of not having to take those long walks, thus resulting in the time drop. I should be very happy.

But, because I felt so much more prepared and confident than I had felt before Baltimore or MCM, I was expecting more--a new PR, perhaps even a Boston Qualifier! And, by these perhaps unrealistic criteria, I was kind of vaguely disappointed with what I had accomplished. Did I fail in managing my own expectations? At work, I use that term, "managing expectations," quite a bit. In fact, I'm currently doing exactly that for a project of mine, a victim of its own success!

So, wanting to know if I could have done better, I re-ran the race over and over in my head, from beginning to end. Perhaps what I'd thought--and felt--was a realistic sustainable pace for the first three 10Ks was still too fast. Perhaps I skipped one too many water stops. Perhaps I let doubt mess a bit too much with my head. Perhaps, despite the training and conscious awareness, I still left too much behind on the course. I also second-guessed all the pre-race preparations. Perhaps I didn't get enough sleep the night before. Perhaps I didn't eat enough for breakfast. Perhaps those Sunday LSDs, which went up to 22 miles, were not long enough. Perhaps the LSD pace, about a minute slower than the marathon pace, was too slow. Perhaps this; perhaps that. As a result of all this post-race quarterbacking, there are changes to my training that I'm contemplating. But whether or not my race expectations were realistic, I'm still not sure.

What I am sure of are three unfamiliar sensations that occurred during the last mile of the race: wooden legs, numbing forearms and hands, and mind zoning out. The latter is hard to describe. There was an otherworldliness aspect to it, as if I was on the verge of stepping into ... what? Simply fascinating!

By now, two weeks later, I am pretty much over that initial perhaps unjustified disappointment. I am focusing now on the fall MCM, with my next goal: to run my Boston Qualifier! :) I just joined the Run Your BQ training community, to guide me along. The first place guy in my age group in Rock 'n' Roll was faster than me by ~1 hr. 10 min! Disheartening, in a way; but, quite encouraging to know what is yet potentially possible--and, which would take me way past my BQ! :)