CIM 22' Battle Plan

Goal: Do not blow up and have a consistent race with a strong finish.

• A Goal: 3:36 (post kid PR)
• B Goal: < 3:44 (2022 PR) with a negative split
• C Goal: Don't get passed in the second half of the race

The California International Marathon is a marathoner's marathon. The course is net downhill at sea level and the organizers sweat the details. The race draws runners looking to notch a Boston qualifying time. This is the race I have been thinking about for the last six months and so it will be a full send.

When I'm in the starting corral I'm going to think about how this is my tenth marathon. I'm going to remember how in five or six of those races I went out too fast. I'm going to gain confidence from the fact that I've run over 2,000 miles in 2022.

I want to have a consistent race where I feel great in those last 6 miles. I ran a time trial 5k a few weeks ago at 22:33. That suggests an 8:12.3 marathon race pace. At sea level that might be more like 8:02 min/mile. I want to be conservative and go out at a 8:45 for the first mile. For the next 17 miles I'm going keep it close to 8:30. At mile 18 I will start working my pace down. I hope that my final 10k and 5k will be the fastest of the race - hopefully around 8:15 or better.

This is a conservative racing strategy. A PR is just not in the cards this time around - my training has been interrupted too much. Finishing somewhere between 3:35 and 3:45 with a negative split will be a huge win.