Boston Marathon Training Starts Tomorrow

Tomorrow, I start my 18-week training cycle for the Boston Marathon in April. I took last week off from running and I am now feeling 95% healthy. After running 40 easy miles this week, I feel completely refreshed. I am ready to tackle whatever plan I come up with. As I make last minute adjustments to my training calendar I am left to wonder:

• Is my goal of a sub 3-hour marathon too aggressive? Should I just run Boston to say I ran Boston, enjoy the experience and not risk an injury which will sideline me?
• Which workout on the calendar (if any) could be my undoing (i.e. I push too hard and have to sit out for a few days/weeks)?
• Am I planning on running too many miles each week or not enough?
• Will I really be able to run the three tempo runs in weeks 15, 16 and 17 (my peak mileage weeks) which call for 10 miles a piece at marathon pace (6:52/mile)? 
• Will I really be disciplined enough with my sleep and eating habits to accomplish my goal?

That said, I am super excited to get started. I am hoping for lots of cold and windy workouts which will make me stronger and more battle hardened.

Winter by the Lake (Jan, 2012)

I want the workouts to be just tough enough that I won't fear a 6:52/mile x 26.2 pace and not too tough that I won't be able to recover for the next workout.

 But for a few weeks this winter, I really want it cold, and I want to run against strong winds whipping off of the lake. 

A training wish for a few weeks of this type of weather.

These are the kind of winds which gust in your face and make you fight for every step. Sometimes it's an absolute struggle to run 10 minute miles. Those type of training conditions gave me my half marathon p.r. in May 2010 and my marathon p.r. in March 2011. They will hopefully bring me a new marathon p.r. in April 2013.

Despite all of those lingering training questions, as of tomorrow morning, I will throw my full confidence behind whatever plan I have in place. Then I'll put my winter gear on, lace up my Mizunos, start running, and I don't plan on slowing down until April 15th!