What Will Happen in Philly?

Creek Road by UD. Who wouldn't love this for a lunchtime run??

My question for the next week and a half: What will the running Gods allow me to do in Philly? I've been thinking about this a lot and come up with a list of things I want to accomplish through this race. I'm using it as a dry-run of a real "A" race - my last before IMLP next July. While I'm doing races before IMLP next year, I don't think I"ll have the opportunity to go full throttle like I will at Philly. I'm viewing this race as a chance to execute all the lessons I've learned this year (and last year) before implementation in LP.

My race plan is made up of two components: time and execution.
Time Goals
I have three categories of time goals. My long runs have been anywhere from 8:25 - 8:45 per mile pace, so I'm somewhere in that range for training paces. In descending order, they are:

5. The wheels on this bus have fallen off: FINISH. This is in case of an epic fail, complete disaster. In this case, finishing would be considered a success. This would be an injury, tripping and doing bad stuff to myself, etc. Or...other 'natural' emergency.

4. Just another day at the races: 4:10. This will beat my Flying PIg Marathon time from 2007, the last time I did a stand-alone marathon. It's a 9:34/mile.

3. I've actually improved: 3:50-3:59, or 8:46 to 9:09/mile pace. I would LOVE to go under 4 hours for this race, and I think this is a very realistic goal, based on my long run paces and overall fitness.

2. YEA!: 3:40-3:49, or 8:23 to 8:46/mile pace. I would be OVER THE MOON if I finished in this time frame. It's a bit aggressive, but not outside the realm of expectations.

1. Give me oxygen because I'm in complete shock: sub 3:40, or under 8:23 pace per mile. The qualifying time for Boston for my age group is now 3:35, which I think is a bit too aggressive for me right now. But, not completely out of the realm of possibility.


Execution Goal
I want to push myself in this race. Like, really push myself. An Ironman tests your mental strength for survival, which I would say I have passed, since I've finished two. I have proven I can endure and survive. But, I don't think I've provided that I can thrive. I don't want to say Philly will be a success if I need the med tent...but it kind of will be. I know I can do the distance and I can be moderately successful just based on the work I've done and my God-given talent. I want to see how far I can push myself to go past my comfort point and how long I can live with being uncomfortable, and frankly, in a fair amount of pain. No pain, no glory.

It's this factor - the mental threshold factor - that I need to test. If I want to be successful in Lake Placid, this is the mountain I have to climb and conquer. It's also a lot harder for me at this point because I'm unfamiliar with it. I can run repeats until my legs fall off (literally...), but it's harder to really practice this, unless you're in a race situation. You can only gear yourself up for this type of intensity once in awhile, because it's mentally and emotionally draining. So...this is my chance! Go hard or go home.

That's the plan. Race day is Sunday, November 20 @ 7 a.m. I believe live race tracking is online at www.philadelphiamarathon.com. My bib is 6388.