12 Weeks to the Big Sur Half-Marathon: The Journey Begins

Start of last year's Big Sur Half-Marathon in Monterey
(Photo from Big Sur Marathon Events) 

"The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare"

-Juma Ikangaa

This quote from Tanzanian distance running legend Juma Ikangaa seems the ideal way to start a new series on this blog. Twelve weeks from now I'll be running the Big Sur Half-Marathon in Monterey.  As any runner knows, it takes a lot to prepare for a half- marathon, whatever your ability.  For many of us runners, taking the journey to reach a mountain top of our own making is why we do what we do.

This fall, that journey is to finish the half-marathon in 1:22, a 6:15 per mile pace.    Last year, I ran the Big Sur Half-Marathon in just a tad under 1:26, about 6:32 per mile pace. No question running a 1:22 will be difficult, but after carefully considering some of the runs and races I've done this year, it's doable.  I'd still be pretty happy if I ran 1:23, about 6:25 per mile pace but 1:22 is the target.   Six weeks before the Monterey Half-Marathon, I'll run the Bridge to Bridge 12k in San Francisco both as a racing tune-up and reality check.

I'm going to start a weekly diary of sorts, posting each week on my running experiences and thoughts leading up the race.  Rather than a tedious tally of each day's run, I hope to both inject a sense of purpose into the quest, and share with you the people, the places, and the things encountered along the way.  Sometimes, I'll describe a certain aspect of the training. Other times I'll introduce you to other runners, either long time training partners or anonymous runners who've gained a certain familiarity as they go by in the opposite direction each morning on the trails.  There will be a few random observations about things as they enter my mind. And with some luck, I won't be writing about any injuries.

The goal is to share my little world within the strange tribe of runners to give other runners added direction, comradery and inspiration while showing non-runners the purpose for doing these crazy things.   Ought to be interesting, should be fun and as always, I never quite know where this will take me.  Hope you join me for the ride.