Dream Big: CIM Goals

My fellow Nuunie-HTC Runner No. 2 buddy, Dorothy, has been infecting the Internet with a phrase she's been inspiring this fall: Dream Big.

The super-speedy, brand-spankin'-new-marathon-PRing (3:13!), totally adorable Dorothy & me during our nighttime leg of Hood to Coast.

As I've been tapering from my pseudo-training plan for CIM, I have been thinking about this phrase quite a bit while I'm out running. I know Dorothy didn't plan for this to become an assignment for people -- but I just need to fess up here.

As we all may (or may not) know, I was dealing with some burnout right after PRing at the San Francisco Marathon. Even though I qualified for guaranteed CIM entry with my SFM time, I debated about signing up for the race. I wanted the burnout to go away before I committed to another marathon, and yet the burnout wasn't going anywhere. From the beginning of August to mid-October, I sort of half-assed ran, went on long slow Sunday Rundays with friends, I spectated a lot of races, took a lot of days off (and by that I mean a LOT of days off), had my first DNS, tried running based on heart rate zones instead of pace, pretty much stopped blogging, and even changed my diet. I was willing to do anything to make myself feel better.

However, my heart rate was still exploding through the roof when I ran up hills, I was taking numerous breaks on even 5-mile casual runs, I felt tired and exhausted and frustrated most of the time, and I had little drive to even want to try marathoning again.

At the very last second possible, I signed up for CIM with my guaranteed entry before it closed. Then I got my butt back into gear since I had exactly 7 weeks until race day. There was no time to waste.

Something clicked, and it happened almost right away. Maybe it was because I had another race to look forward to. Maybe it was because I had 2+ months of rest that I denied actually needing. I'm very much looking forward to CIM because I think I have a good chance of doing well (by my own standards).

And this is where Dream Big plays in for me.

I've always sort of (ok, no really) underestimated my running goals. I want to give myself plenty of cushion for if/when I fail. I want to make things seem bigger and better when I hit my lowered goals.

Not this time. I want to put everything out there.

My first of two 20 milers for this shortened training cycle left me in disbelief. I came up with excuses ("But I broke it up into 3 little runs," "But I ran a race as part of it," "But I ran with friends and we stopped to talk," "blah blah blah"). The truth is, it happened.

My second 20 miler was even better and left me physically shaking my head. I came up with more excuses ("But I took 4 water/fuel breaks," "But I ran in the rain and that made me go fast," "But I tucked my watch away so I had no idea what my pace was," "blah blah blah"). The truth is, it also happened.

Thank you, Garmin Connect.

My 16-miler last weekend was even better. Another Nuunie-HTC buddy, XLMIC, made for me a pacing strategy to try. And it worked. Very well. There were no excuses.

Thank you, Daily Mile ... & XLMIC for the goal!

Things are getting better and better. I have high hopes.

For CIM, I am dreaming big. During my run today I truly absorbed my goals for this race, and I'm not going to hide behind them or underestimate myself this time.

If I fail at it, who cares? No one is going to hate me. It's not going to make me a bad person. It's not going to mean I'm a crappy runner. It just means I tried, I didn't make it, I'll train better, and I'll try again at my spring marathon. (Light-bulb moment!)

People put their Dream Big goals out there all the time and I respect them for not hiding behind lowered expectations. I admire that they are going for something beyond their comfort zone. I don't want to hide behind myself by setting goals I know I can hit anymore. I have absolutely nothing to lose and hopefully many more chances to try.

And with that... My Dream Big Goals for CIM.

• A+ goal: Finish in 3:33:xx. XLMIC has created a pacing strategy for me that would have me finishing a few seconds under 3:34 if I have a perfect day. I will pretty much piss my pants if this happens, but hey... crazy things have happened for me in races before. Why not shoot for that perfect day?
• A goal: Finish in 3:39. This would mark shaving an hour off my marathon time from when I first started. I will pretty much piss my pants if this happens, too, to be honest... and I truly believe I have a good chance at doing it at CIM. But maybe I can push beyond that, which is why I have an A+ goal. :)
  
• B goal: Finish with a PR (sub-3:44). Did I ever think a PR would be so far down my goal list? No. But this time... it has to be. I've got more in me.
• C goal: Finish strong, but knowing I'm going to do my absolute hardest to get my A+ goal next spring. That might actually include a real training cycle next time. ;)
  

There we have it folks. If I fail, I fail. If I get this, well, I'm probably going to shy off and not boast about it.

Or maybe I will.

Dream Big. 11 more days!

Thanks for the inspiration, Dorothy.

Friendly reminder: You can use the discount code "ALYSSAFF10" until this Saturday (11-26) to save $10 on your SF 1st half, 2nd half, and full marathon registration for the 2012 races. After that the code expires -- and race fees go up! -- so now is your best time to save.