Marathon PB or not ?????

I` am running th Berlin marathon in 3 weeks & 5 days time , i missed the first 4 weeks of my 16 week training plan to a nasty calf injury that would not go away! , consequently i had to start from a low base of 8 - 12 miles a week on week 3 to normal marathon milage by week 5.

suffered in the heat a few weeks ago & crashed badley in a half marathon 1/2 a mile from the finish!!! , but have recovered & managed the 2 planned long runs of 19 & 21 miles in the last 2 weeks respectivley on my training plan.

I have no idea what pace & time to aim for my PB was in Paris last april 03 hrs 48 , due to my lack of milage going in to the training i oppted for the sub 4 hr training schedule on this site & have been 10 to 15 min quicker than the target times listed on  my 2 longest runs so far.

should i be content with aiming for a sub 4 hr in my 4th marathon this time out or try for that elusive PB again ????? HELP!!!!

I think you can only race on how you actually feel.

Last summer I injured my calf when training for Berlin and I made the mistake of trying to aim for my original target time. I crashed and burned badly that day. The second half of that race was the hardest I've had to endure. I thought I could do it as I'd ran well in a half a few weeks previous, but the training I'd missed due to the injury took it's toll on me during the race. If I'd been rational about it I should have just aimed to enjoy the race and adjust my target time accordingly.

I think you just need to try and be honest with yourself. Do you actually feel in marathon PB form based on your training? If not alter your overall goal for the race. There will always be other events where you can aim to set a new PB.

I would start slow with the aim of hitting half way in just under 2 hours and finishing strongly. There's nothing worse than a slow and painful end to a marathon - especially if you don't make it to the end. You'll probably feel pretty good for the first 15 miles, but after that you're going to start to feel it if you are pushing for a PB without the training to back it up. Good luck to you, hope it goes well and that you enjoy it...that's the main thing, right..?

 cheers