My last posts have indicated a move away from road racing and moving towards ultra and/or trail running, also while bemoaning my lack of speed and lack of motivation to head to the track or do what it would it take to improved said speed. But with all that being said, I can't forget that I have one very important road race coming up and that is the 2020 Twin Cities Marathon. Why is this race so important? I've ran this race many times, so what's the big deal? 2020 is the race that my daughter challenged me about 4 or 5 years ago. This was back when I was a 2:50 something marathoner and she was just getting started, but making real progress. So, we looked ahead and tried to determine when would be a reasonable time to expect when my diminishing speed and here rising skills would intersect and we determined 2020 was the most reasonable.. I think we will be pretty close. If we were to race tomorrow, I think she would win. Her training has been going well and she has youth on her side. Will she beat me in 2020? If this old man can get back into my disciplined groove that I had been in back in 2015, I have a better than 50/50 chance. If I continue on by 40 to 60 mile weeks, with wanting and waning enthusiasm, she would be the clear favorite. The 3 to 3.5 hour marathon will be tough to achieve unless a since dormant fire in the belly fires up pretty darn quick. I've been stoking it for more than 3 years, and I have little more than a few smoldering embers! Lets have fun trying!
