Focus

I'm starting to feel more confident that I'll nail 3:45 this year. I'm following the 3:45 schedule on my Garmin, and if anything I'm running faster and further than I'm meant to (but without feeling overtired). On my interval sessions I get told to slow down more than I get told to speed up (but manage to do the last rep at the same pace as the first), and my long runs are significantly faster than they're meant to be (but again, the last four or five miles tend to see me speeding up).

Last year my real target was to break 4 hours at Edinburgh, and to survive Amsterdam in a state to do New York. Although I felt like 3:45 was possible, I didn't have my heart set on it and when the runs got tough towards the end I quickly switched to the fall back "how much time can I lose and still go sub-4" plan.

This year I'm not going to let myself think like that. In fact, I'm almost tempted to set my "on a good day" target at sub 3:40, with the fall back target at 3:45. 3:40 would get me a Boston qualifying time as well as GFA, and while I don't know whether I'd be able to afford to go over and run it, having the option would be nice. But if I miss it, the fact that I'd have aimed for it might get me under 3:45 as a consolation.

A friend at running club is doing the 3:45 plan too, but doesn't seem confident. I know that she runs a lot of club runs at a similar pace to me, although I'm marginally faster in races usually (I don't think she's ever quite managed to beat me when we've gone head to head, and her marathon PB is 3:57). I know that for me a lot of it is about confidence, and this time I'm refusing to let myself see 3:45 as anything but achievable. I know that it should be, I know I've been training well, so I'm not going to let myself talk myself out of it in my head.