"Tentative"

What does it mean to be Tentative?

ten·ta·tive

 [ten-tuh-tiv]  Show IPA

adjective

1.

of the nature of or made or done as a trial, experiment, or attempt; experimental: a tentative report on her findings.

2.

unsure; uncertain; not definite or positive; hesitant: a tentative smile on his face.

This is often the essence of a training and racing schedule.  To construct a schedule to meet your fitness goals and race objectives, plan not to deviate, and then to constantly readjust along the way.

Don't you just love those advanced Marathon training programs that
don't give you a day off, have you doing insane tempo runs, track workouts,
and of course expect that you won't get injured!  Yes, they get you  into
incredible shape, if you are one of the few and incredibly lucky runners
who doesn't get injured!

Case in point: I had wanted to do a 50k on February 9th just as a training run, then found out a good friend of mine is having his 30th birthday party the night before.  As much as endurance type training can strain our friendships and interpersonal relationships, sometimes you need to choose in favor of "real life".

That is really the best case scenario - choosing to adjust your training on your own will.  Usually more often the case is when you are forced to adjust due to injury.  Its always better than to take a few extra easy days or rest days to prevent an injury, than to have one pop up and have to take multiple weeks off.

Hence, my Tentative 2013 Race Calendar has already changed a few times and will probably change a few more times.  The only things really written in stone are the 2013 Boston Marathon and the Northface Gore-Tex 50 Miler.