racing goals, aging and being reasonable..

yesterday: 4miles at 7:20. pretty good turn around the park. was ultra-anxious, as usual, about the Achilles, but it seemed to hold ok. felt great yesterday evening, but is stlightly achy this morning. probably connected to it being cold and that i haven't fully stretched it out yet.

today will see me turn up later for my second session with Kent AC. last week was really good fun, and i liked the people and the feel of it. don't think we're back on the track yet, so that likely means we're back out in a poorly lit park somewhere. we'll see..

was thinking this morning about racing and my plans - and my age. i'm 38 now, and i guess you could say i've come to it later in life than most. i started up only a couple of years ago and have only raced a handful of half and full marathons - definitely so compared with some of the seasoned veterans on the courses who must be of an equivalent age. it leads me to think about what i want to accomplish - and how much time i've got to do some of those things. i'm running London next year, and that's always been a big (probably the biggest) wish for me - ever since i arrived 8years ago. but what other races do i want to run - where? and how?

well, another race that came to mind, and probably spurred this whole line of thinking, was the Boson marathon. entries for 2011 have just opened and closed - it filled up the same day! i like to sound of it because it comes in the right end of the year (for what i'm used to in marathon prep) and also the fact that you have to qualify. don't know why i like that, but there's definitely a draw because of it.

so London this year, Boston next year, then? well, then i'll be 40, and I guess i'll have to reevaluate my racing strategy. i've been pretty lucky this year to have clocked a sub-3hr marathon. i'm going to try my damndest to beat that next year - by a few minutes - now i know going sub-3 is possible for me. the following year, i'd guess i'll still be capable to run at those speeds. but after that i don't know how long it'll go on before i start to fade in the speeds i can pull off. i know i'm a decent runner, but i also know that i have to train very hard (find it difficult to do anything else to be honest) to get up to these standards. maybe a few years down the line i'm not going to be physically able to match what i can achieve now. how's that going to feel? when it happens - and who knows? maybe it's a while off yet - i think it's going to be hard to accept. i wonder what it feels like to know you're past your bests - no more PBs..

there are definitely some halfs that sound attractive, and probably a fair few more fulls that tickle my fancy.. it's a full intention to run at least one a year. maybe when i get on a bit and the times aren't so important, i'll be more open to running more than one a year - just to participate - and get that great feeling of achievement and belonging..