Goals for the Brighton Marathon

It’s that time again… my next marathon is almost here. My fourteenth marathon.

So normally when I write these things I’m quite vague and fluffy about my goals. I’d have several soft goals of remaining uninjured, having a bit of fun and probably aiming for a ballpark time of 3:45 or there abouts.

The “remain uninjured” will always be my first and foremost goal. No marathon is worth getting injured for in my opinion. I’ve been there and done that with my first Bournemouth Marathon and if I’m honest I fully regret pushing through. I don’t get warm fuzzy feelings from that one. But you live and learn (or at least I try to).

So this marathon, asides from my unchanged “remain uninjured” main goal, I do have fairly ambitious time goals this time. I had a moment of, “why not?” the other week as I found my training was going well and I’d clocked up some solid long runs (17 miles, 18 miles, 20 miles… the stuff that dreams are made of as far as I’m concerned when it comes to my marathon training).

I mean, I could run this marathon like I’ve run most of the others… take a few selfies, wave and smile at the supporters and take my time on the first 20 miles before thinking “OK maybe time to give it a blast”. And I’d manage to have gas left in the tank because I’d ran fairly comfortably.

But what would happen if I did actually go for it? Like set out with a ‘not-so-comfortable selfie-taking’ pace? I’m not talking about a ridiculous pace but something around 7:50s. Comfortable enough in theory, but for 26.2 miles…? Not as cushty as say 8.30s or 8.20s would be. And then if I have gas left, to push that further to 7.40s and maybe even 7.30s.

This is all very much blue sky thinking dreamworld scenario of course but I do want to put it out there that I’m considering going for it. My final decision will very much depend on how I feel on the day of course and then, if I do appear to feel good, how the first 8-10 miles feel. If it feels like it’s just too hard to maintain for the rest then I can accept defeat and either crawl miserably to the end of bring the pace back down and resume selfie-taking mode.

I realistically have nothing to lose (asides from some painful hours of my life in a living nightmare of a marathon). The Brighton Marathon isn’t a particularly special marathon. I’d never attempt something like this for a marathon like New York (later this year) because I want to actually enjoy New York (if possible) and see the sights and have a good time. Brighton? Well it’s relatively flat and realistically if it goes wrong I won’t cry about it because it’s, well, Brighton (no offence Brighton. I love you dearly as you know).

Now this is scary, throwing your goals down on paper for the world Internet to see and judge (OK, yeah no one cares but me…). My PB is 3:24:06 from the Liverpool Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon back in 2016. So to beat this I need to run roughly a 7.45min/mile pace. So my intention (very much intention I stress) is to head out at 7.50s and see what I can bring to the table later on. I won’t be upset if I don’t beat my PB. I’m very proud of it and if it remains my PB forever than that’s fine by me. But to beat it would be nice of course.

So my goals:

  • Remain uninjured
  • Gold Standard (if everything goes right on the day, angels sing, unicorns prance, cake drops from the heavens etc.): sub 3:24
  • Silver Standard: sub 3:30
  • Bronze Standard: sub 3:35
  • Everything’s gone to poo: all the selfies and make it to the finish

There we have it. Laid out bare. If it happens it happens. If it doesn’t, who cares? My self-esteem and happiness do not rest on this. It does however rest on the size of the cake I’ll be eating afterwards. Just saying.

Do you set yourself hard or soft goals?

Do you like to beat your PB’s regularly? Are they important to you?

Why do you run?

10 Replies to “Goals for the Brighton Marathon”

  1. I think I probably always have goals, but they’re not always time goals. For years I’ve been trying to reach a certain time but keep missing it (for various reasons). This year my goal is about enjoying the process and doing my best under whatever circumstances there are on the day. Sure I’ll probably set some more specific race day goals, but they will be quite soft goals so as not to put pressure on myself.

    Sometimes, though, we just have to go for it and perhaps now is that time for you. Good luck!
    Allison recently posted…Week In Review – Reaching the Peak!My Profile

  2. Huge good luck for the marathon – can’t believe you’re on your second of the year already! This one will at least be slightly cooler! I love your attitude towards goals and that your self-esteem doesn’t rely on the number on the clock. x
    LilyLipstick recently posted…Life: March Round-upMy Profile

  3. It’s so exciting! Good luck, and hopefully it isn’t too hot on the day.
    I think it’s great to have goals and aim for things like this, but equally good to go to a race to enjoy the experience and not focus on time. Balance is always good.
    At least you know there are loads of places in Brighton to get a big piece of cake from after you finish!
    Maria @ Maria runs recently posted…A brilliant running movie and lots of blog-minMy Profile

    1. Hi Anna

      I don’t think I’ve commented before, but thank you for your blog.
      Based on what I’ve seen – you can do &:50 for starting pace.
      Best wishes for tomorrow.

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