Today I cross-trained at the gym and did 6 miles (1 hour) on the elliptical. I listened to Phedippidations episode 124: The 2007 Philadelphia Marathon. This is the episode in which Steve Walker (Steve Runner) chronicles his epic marathon PR of 4:01:31, falling short of his sub 4 hour goal. I was captured by the podcast and kept thinking about how I have been working toward a sub 4:30 marathon and in my Hartford Marathon in October I came up short by only 58 seconds.

I was OK with my outcome and really happy because it was, by far, my best performance to date. Steve has inspired me such that I believe that with my continued focus and training I CAN also do a sub 4 hour marathon. And when I do, I suspect it will be in a few years, it should be good enough to qualify me for the Boston Marathon. Imagine that. I have never really thought seriously about running Boston, but this past year has revealed such running improvement that I do feel Boston is a dream goal that is possible.

Having reach goals is wonderful. Something to work towards. Without them, I don’t think it would be as much fun. Having a long term goal that I can make progress towards is ideal. A little bit closer each time. Here’s to my next PR.