Things Get Serious Starting Tomorrow

I'm running the SFHM2 tomorrow for a total weekend mileage of 15ish and total weekly mileage around 33.

After that, the marathon schedule feels like *really* begins.  It calls for 10 weeks of rapidly increasing volume where the weekend total mileage builds and steps back every other week: 16, 20, 18, 23, 18, 25, 18, 26, 18, 14, race.

More importantly, the mid-week mileage starts to really grow as well.  By the end, in addition to the weekend stuff, I should be fitting in 3 medium length days and a weekly 10 mile tempo at target race pace on a work day (that should be exciting to juggle around).  Compared to what I have been doing, those numbers seem a bit impossible. 

So, I'm just going to focus on tomorrow, which is a bit of a crap shoot.  Training has been meh - 8 weeks since my last half with total mileage between 28-35 mpw, with the obvious outlier of 16 miles the week I dislocated my shoulder.  It sounds better than it is, though, because I've been letting myself walk whenever I've felt like it, and I've felt like it quite often.  Then, this week, I got a bit of a stomach bug and had to avoid training for 2 days while making sure my temperature didn't get too high and also making sure to replace fluids regularly. 

Every time I'm nauseated (which isn't that often), I always think of my poor Dad during chemo.  Going about your daily life without nausea is such a huge and wonderful blessing.  I seem to be recovered and I've been enjoying the bliss of an appetite and keeping good food down for almost 2 days now, so I'm hopeful there won't be any ill effects tomorrow, but you never know.    

My A goal is 2:10 (any 2:10:XX on the watch will make me very happy).  I think this is potentially doable but everything has to go just right. 

My B goal is to run my fastest half so far this year, so to beat 2:14:39.

My C goal is to finish strong and put in a performance I'm proud of.

My D goal, as always, is just to finish.

I know lots of folks who will be running tomorrow, and the coach of my running club is coming to pace me on miles 6.5 - 9.5, which should be a huge help.  I'm looking forward to a fun social day.