It has been decided...
I will be running the 12th Geoynggi Marathon
Suwon, South Korea, April 20th.
It will be my first full marathon.
My running partner Rocket wanted me join her on the Seoul International Marathon in March but my main club sponsor Wow was urging me to not even consider doing a full marathon at all. He loves that I'm all about my sports, both my running and my boxing, but says the training and toll running takes on the body surely won't help my boxing -- it leans you out and weakens your knees and, in my case, my ankles. I definitely agree but I argue I need a goal. I'm in the in between stage -- between finishing a goal and waiting for my next one -- and soon enough it is going to kick me into frustration. After much talk about this key fact, Wow agreed with my need for a goal and said go for it, with one exception that is. Train for the full marathon but drop it the second I get scheduled a fight around that date, if it happened. I agreed.
Rocket was over on one of the treadmills, booking it with her own training, when Wow and I were discussing marathon training methods and whatnot. He's a huge fan of interval training (HIIT) and always stressed proper footing when we talk about running. Wow has never done a full marathon but he's ran several races with me, including a half marathon in which I scored 2nd place in my age group and a 10km were I scored 4th among the women. I'd love for him to run the full with me, could definitely appreciate and use the mental push and running buddy backing me up during the race, but he said the real challenge is for me to push myself through it on my own. I couldn't agree more with him.
When Rocket was done her running, the three of us sat around talking about different marathons and pacing. Rocket's goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon, a marathon where only the best get allowed to participate. Apparently for us ladies (in the 18 to 34 age category) to qualify for it, we'd have to complete the entire marathon in 3hrs and 35mins. That works out to be 5:06min/km...very impressive. Knowing that definitely puts a whole new respect on those who participate in that particular marathon, woozers! And here I thought me 5:10mins/km that I held for my best half marathon was impressive, apparently not. I wouldn't even be allowed to enter in the Boston...ouch!!!
Wow told me to aim to clock in under the 4 hour mark when I do my first full, meaning my pacing would have to be about 5:42mins/km; that's doable but then again I have never done a full marathon and it's always easier said than done. I found an interesting marathon time predictor online, called the Slate Marathon Time Predictor. Unlike the Runner's World one, the Slate one uses the times and level of difficulty for two different races to predict how long you should expect it to take you to do a full.
According to the Slate predictor, I should aim to finish at 4:02:43, but according to the Runner's World marathon time predictor, my aim should be 3:47:15 . Wow's goal for me is 4:00:00 but leave it to me to push it and set my goal for 3:55:00.
I don't exactly enjoy running, to tell you the truth, but I am good at it and I totally feed off the feeling that comes with killing a run -- beating my previous best pacing, getting in more kilometres. It's the "after run" I love. I've been debating whether to start up a running club here in Cheonan but have been hesitant for various reasons. My top two reasons include it possibly being regarded as a foreigners-only group and/or only attracting foreigners and the fact that I'd have to attend every run I plan for the group. A running group is one where I'd much rather pick and choose when I want to participate and who I'd want to participate with. Not everyone in the group is going to be my friend but when you're a leader you have to suck it up and act like they are -- that's exhausting. Been there, totally done that, and not going to do that again. Much rather leave my energy to the running thanks. Tonight Wow and talked a bit about the option for me to join a running group. The group is an all-Korean group located here in Cheonan. They run several times a week and have monthly meetings and socials. I think that's what I need, to be surrounded by more runners as I prepare for my first marathon. Wow is convinced that with my running experience and handle on the Korean language that I'd definitely be gladly accepted and would fit right in so I am contemplating it.
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