I'm 24 and have been running for about 2 years. Last year I ran a 2:58 marathon and ran 2:12 a month before on a 30k trail race that I'm racing again next weekend. I obviously would like to better my pr from last year, but am unsure if I should go for a solid sub 2:10 or go out hard and aim for sub 2. The race is mostly rolling hills, but the first 15k are quite flat. Last 10k are pretty tough with a few big steep hills.
Unfortunately neither last year nor this year has my mileage been consistent.
My 6 weeks leading up to the race last year was:
15
26 (part of an ironman)
0
35
50
65
and 40 on race week.
This year I was injured with a stress fracture for most of the spring/summer so only recently started running again. I've done a few 30-40 mile weeks in the past months, but also several weeks without any running. I have done a lot of cross training so my fitness is decent. Last week I ran 60 miles and felt quite good. Did some cruise intervals on the treadmill last friday and did 3x4k at 6:20 pace. Yesterday I did 5+4+3k averaging 6:10 feeling quite good.
So my question is, is it obvious that I can't run a hilly 30k in under 2h and I should just shoot for 42/k and go for a pr, or should I just try and leave it all out there?
Thankful for any help.