Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Pre-Game warm up - 4 days to go

I’m told, and I’ve read, that the 2 weeks prior to a first marathon can be nerve wracking and while I didn’t believe it at the time, I understand it now.  At this point I’m in full “taper” mode – no more long runs, and fully focused on staying limber and avoiding anything that might cause injury.  And it feels really, really weird.  My last “long” run was over a week ago, 13 miles, and it felt really good.  It was a fun run and I fully enjoyed it.  Odd that after running 20+ mile training runs, that 13 miles no longer seems that far. 

The nerve wracking part comes from the insipid and lingering concern (not doubt, just concern) re my ability to do the distance.  Will I be able to do it? (of course I will….)  Will I have a problem with my hamstring? (I have learned a neat trick to mitigate that problem),  Will I cramp up if the weather gets hot? (I’ve learned how to better manage my electrolyte intake),  but the thoughts still come.  I keep wishing that I could get one more 20 mile run in before the marathon.

My last thing to worry about is what pacing team to join (the marathon offers a number of different pacing groups that are led by runners who somehow have an awesome internal metronome and can run a specified pace throughout the race – the purpose of these groups is to enable novices like myself to have a slightly better chance of completing the full event).  The trick is in picking the right pace.

I’ve been doing my long runs at around a 9:30 min/mile pace, sometimes a little slower, sometimes a bit faster.  My short runs, the 3-4 milers, I have averaged around 8:30 min/mile.  But I’ve been counseled to join a pace team that is slower than my training pace (after all, it’s a 26 mile run….); so I have to make a choice between either a 9:45 or 10:18 min/mile group.  My competitive preference is for the first, but my logical head says that I should choose the latter.

By starting with the slower group, I’ll hopefully stay reasonably fresh for a longer time, and if I’m feeling strong at mid-race or after wards, I can step out on my own and finish perhaps a little better.  I’m told that my only goal for my first marathon should be to finish, but I would like to do more than just finish.  I’d like to finish strong and post a respectable time.

Four days to go….! I can’t wait !

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