Meaghan McCallin
Age: 24
Race: Marathon
Goal: 3:24
Blog 1: Changing Goals
Blog 2: Marathon Jitters
Meaghan is a former SLU runner and a native of Kentucky. She is just out of college but her career as a CPA is already in full swing. That makes training tough at times but she finds a way to make it work. Not to mention her packed social calendar!
11.12.09 (3 days out)
I’ve had my first of the marathon jitters. Seriously, who dreams about eating a bacon cheeseburger while heading to the starting line???
Well of course my final week of prep hasn’t gone totally according to plan. I headed home to the hills of Kentucky for my final long run. I learned about 5 minutes into it though that I may have had a little too much fun at the Miranda Lambert concert the night before. Whoops. Sunday was my first ever Bengals game which was amazing (side note – great weekend). Who dey!
Our final workout was 2 x 3 miles at marathon pace and felt really good. It was nice to get one last feel for what pace I’m hoping to run. Sara and I stayed right on track at 8:00 pace and managed to carry on a conversation for most of it. So that’s it. We’ve come to the final days, and now it’s time to see how these past 12 weeks will pay off. San Antonio…here we come!
Changing Goals:
11.4.09 (10 days out)
If you’d asked me about my goals for San Antonio when we started marathon training, I would have told you that I was hoping to run a 3:24. Well…after a few hiccups in my training (i.e. tax season, illness, and injury), I’ve come to realize that my new goal is to finish in a respectable time while also enjoying myself (or at least trying to). This seems like a perfect start for me, albeit not the one I had originally planned for. I’ve never been a high mileage runner, but Ben’s training plan has gotten me back into the swing of weekly long runs and speed workouts that I’ve been missing dearly since college. The Sunday mornings have been a struggle since I lack the ability to say no to social outings on Saturday nights, but I’m out there and that counts. We’ve had some great times on those long treks. I mean, watching Kris step into sinkholes of mud or Sara’s running belt come flying apart at inopportune moments has been hilarious.
For these next two weeks before the marathon, my focus is going to be on just staying healthy and getting in consistent running. It’s hard not to get anxious about November 15th and how it will play out. I’m nervous about the heat and stopping to use the restroom and taking water…but for now it’s time to enjoy our group runs, get in one more solid long run, and have a few good laughs while doing it.
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