Race Goals for Rock n' Roll New Orleans Marathon 2020

Tomorrow afternoon I'll be hopping on a plane and flying down to New Orleans where I'll be running the Rock n' Roll New Orleans Marathon - state and marathon #13! I am so excited that I'll be meeting up with my pals Erin & Cullen in one of the most fun cities in the country, spending the weekend with them, and finally kicking off Spring 2020 racing season. I've never really set myself race goals before a marathon before. Usually my goal is just to finish! But I've found in my training that having a target in mind has helped keep me motivated when things get tough. I've seen other runners set multiple goals for their marathons before, as the sport is extremely unpredictable, so I thought I'd give it a whirl and set myself A, B, C, and D goals for Sunday!

I'll be running 26.2 miles to earn this beauty this weekend!

A. Sub-5 hour marathon time

This is what I've been working toward all training cycle. I want to see a 4 on the front of my finish time so badly! I believe that I can do it and I am going to push hard to get there. I know that it's going to be a tough fight but I am up to the challenge and I'm actually really excited to see how I can perform after a really productive training cycle. #SUB5ORBUST!!!

B. Marathon PR

If I miss the mark of the Sub-5, I would absolutely love to PR. My current marathon PR of 5:08:24 is about 4.5 years old and I achieved it on the fairly hilly Maine Marathon course in October 2015. I would love to set myself a new personal best on the flat New Orleans course on Sunday and finally beat my 25 year old self at 26.2!

C. Sub-5:30

My most recent marathons have all taken me quite a bit longer than 5:30. It's really uncomfortable to be out on the course for that long and I would love to avoid that happening again! Of course I'm hoping I will be no where near 5:30, but if it comes down to it, if I can get across the finish line under that time I will be very happy.

D. Just finish! 😊 

Hey - the marathon is an extremely difficult and unpredictable undertaking. Anything can happen on race day, ranging from your #1 goal being realized all the way to a DNF. Illness can happen. Injury can happen. Literally ANYTHING can happen along that course. So, if all else fails, I just want to finish the race! Every finish line is an incredible feat and I will be proud of myself for crossing another one if that is the only goal I'm able to achieve. At the end of the day it's all about #finishlinesnotfinishtimes, amirite?