ANSWERING THE CURRENT CRUCIAL QUESTION

Tomorrow, I race again. This is the chance to answer my Current Crucial Question: Am I better now than I was 2 weeks ago?

Two weeks ago is when I had my last race. It was a 4-miler that I ran in the relatively slowpoke time of 29:27. To be fair to myself, running at all, and not getting hurt or reinjured was a nice step forward. But now my hopes are a little grander. The event tomorrow is another 4 mile race so I can see just how much 14 days of steady training has done for me. Last year I ran 27:29, my second fastest ever...and I beat that by 10 seconds 3 weeks later. Damn I was in good shape! Well, that's not happening tomorrow, but here is what I hope will:

1-Beat my last race of 29:27. Since weather conditions should be better, it would be pretty much of a disaster if I don't!

2-Break 29:00. It's just a number, but 28:59 seems far more than just 1 second better than 29:00. That's a 7:15 pace and should be doable.

3-Two years ago, I did 28:56...and took second place in my age group! The reason is that most everyone was doing that day's 15K race. Well, I can only hope that happens again. I'll be pleased to run faster even if I place far lower than second.

4-Run Even Faster. Running faster is always my goal. I doubt that I can do much better than the goals already noted, but, of course, I hope that I can and will. Sometimes I surprise myself and sometimes that's in a good way! So here's what I hope for, semi-fantasticly :
-Break 7:10 pace.
-Finish under 28:30.
-Approach 28 Flat.
-Beat 28 Minutes.

These range from very unlikely to virtually impossible unless there's a strong tail wind the entire time on a circular course. But, of course, still...

...We'll see what tomorrow brings!