Hello all - I've been training since Halloween for my first marathon, Pocono Mountain, PA, on May 6, 2007, and I'm eagerly anticipating and have entered the WDW 2008 full. Did anyone here run last year's inaugural Pocono Mountain marathon? How was your experience? The reviews on marathonguide.com are very positive.
On another matter, I'm not certain what my goal should be for my first marathon. It's easy to say that my goal should be to finish, but I'm always challenging myself. I clocked a 1:53 half-marathon with my Garmin Forerunner 205 on a recent training run. I'm hoping to trim down from 140 lbs to the low 130s by race day in May. That said, I've been having trouble pushing the pace lately and have settled in to a roughly 8:30 pace for mid-range 5 to 7 mile runs, and closer to 7:30 for a 3 miler. I haven't pushed to run faster, and I'm not sure that I should.
I believe my realistic goal should be to finish my first marathon in May and break 4 hours. Then maybe strive for a new PR at WDW next January. I'd love to hear your opinions, and of course your report on Pocono if you ran it last year.
Thanks!
On another matter, I'm not certain what my goal should be for my first marathon. It's easy to say that my goal should be to finish, but I'm always challenging myself. I clocked a 1:53 half-marathon with my Garmin Forerunner 205 on a recent training run. I'm hoping to trim down from 140 lbs to the low 130s by race day in May. That said, I've been having trouble pushing the pace lately and have settled in to a roughly 8:30 pace for mid-range 5 to 7 mile runs, and closer to 7:30 for a 3 miler. I haven't pushed to run faster, and I'm not sure that I should.
I believe my realistic goal should be to finish my first marathon in May and break 4 hours. Then maybe strive for a new PR at WDW next January. I'd love to hear your opinions, and of course your report on Pocono if you ran it last year.
Thanks!