10 days...
...and I'm not scared yet. I'm remarkably calm about the whole thing. I know I've trained, I know I'm in far better shape than before Berlin, and I know I'll do fairly well. The thought of running 26.2 miles doesn't daunt me, and I just want to get on with it!
First I need to get through the taper without eating my own bodyweight in jaffa cakes and pasta (must repeat a million times - carb loading means eating a higher proportion of carbs, not eating more food...). I need to write list after list after list of things I need to organise, buy and pack for Edinburgh and Spain. I need to find some maps of Edinburgh to help me find the hotel, the expo and the airport, I need to work out what time I need to leave to get up to Edinburgh early enough on the Saturday (without setting off too early that I mess up my sleep patterns). I need to work out what to put in my kit bag, particularly food and drink for after the race which is an area I failed miserably on in Berlin (I had stuff with me, but not stuff I could face eating).
I suppose it's good that my obsessional, planning and list writing tendencies come out at this stage because it takes my mind off the fact that I'm not actually meant to be running or indeed doing much else with my time. I need to rest as much as I can, wrap myself in cotton wool, avoid getting injuries or a cold or anything else, and tick down the sleeps til the big day. I need to remind myself not to ride my new bike when I pick it up on Saturday too, which will be hard! I don't want to stress muscles which aren't used to being used, and more importantly I don't want to fall off it (unlikely, but possible as I haven't cycled regularly for years).
There's just one big decision left. Pacing for the big day. In Berlin my plan was very much to run as far as I could, then finish. It got me a medal, but left me feeling a bit disappointed. In the circumstances it was quite possibly the best approach, but I want to run a marathon properly this time. So, do I go with the pacing group that's a bit over 30 seconds/mile slower than half marathon pace and see how long I can hack it for, or do I go with the pacing group that's another 30 seconds or so slower than that, which I'm confident I should be able to stick with the whole way round. I should be able to stick with the faster group in theory, but theory and practice are two different things when it comes to marathon day!
(Oh, the other decision, do I race my 10k on Sunday, or just plod round it? I had an idea of a time I'd like to achieve if I go all out - and think it is realistic - then I looked at last years results and saw that because it's such a small race, that time would actually have got me third place! No doubt there will be a faster field to foil me this year, but you never know... I could wait and get the target time in another race, but the other 10ks I'm doing this summer are bigger with therefore less chance of winning a prize if I manage it)
First I need to get through the taper without eating my own bodyweight in jaffa cakes and pasta (must repeat a million times - carb loading means eating a higher proportion of carbs, not eating more food...). I need to write list after list after list of things I need to organise, buy and pack for Edinburgh and Spain. I need to find some maps of Edinburgh to help me find the hotel, the expo and the airport, I need to work out what time I need to leave to get up to Edinburgh early enough on the Saturday (without setting off too early that I mess up my sleep patterns). I need to work out what to put in my kit bag, particularly food and drink for after the race which is an area I failed miserably on in Berlin (I had stuff with me, but not stuff I could face eating).
I suppose it's good that my obsessional, planning and list writing tendencies come out at this stage because it takes my mind off the fact that I'm not actually meant to be running or indeed doing much else with my time. I need to rest as much as I can, wrap myself in cotton wool, avoid getting injuries or a cold or anything else, and tick down the sleeps til the big day. I need to remind myself not to ride my new bike when I pick it up on Saturday too, which will be hard! I don't want to stress muscles which aren't used to being used, and more importantly I don't want to fall off it (unlikely, but possible as I haven't cycled regularly for years).
There's just one big decision left. Pacing for the big day. In Berlin my plan was very much to run as far as I could, then finish. It got me a medal, but left me feeling a bit disappointed. In the circumstances it was quite possibly the best approach, but I want to run a marathon properly this time. So, do I go with the pacing group that's a bit over 30 seconds/mile slower than half marathon pace and see how long I can hack it for, or do I go with the pacing group that's another 30 seconds or so slower than that, which I'm confident I should be able to stick with the whole way round. I should be able to stick with the faster group in theory, but theory and practice are two different things when it comes to marathon day!
(Oh, the other decision, do I race my 10k on Sunday, or just plod round it? I had an idea of a time I'd like to achieve if I go all out - and think it is realistic - then I looked at last years results and saw that because it's such a small race, that time would actually have got me third place! No doubt there will be a faster field to foil me this year, but you never know... I could wait and get the target time in another race, but the other 10ks I'm doing this summer are bigger with therefore less chance of winning a prize if I manage it)
posted by YP at 7:44 PM
1 Comments:
I'm a conservative wee soul, so I vote:
1- Start with the slower (9:00?) pace group. Leave them at halfway...Then you'll probably able to run closeish to half-M pace back.
2- Don't race- if it doesnt go well it could rock your confidence. If it does go well, it could take too much.
Post a Comment
<< Home