In anticipation of the race next weekend a handful of loosely collected thoughts have bubbled up about training and te race itself:
- I have felt really good the past four months throughout training, even though I've increased my speed and added a cross-training day to my weekly schedule. I've felt tired, but nothing like the fatigue of training for my first two Marathons.
- I'm worried I didn't make my training schedule hard enough because the training went easier this time around. I did increase my speed but not really the mileage--although I'm always apprehensive to increase the mileage because that means waking up even earlier than I already do.
- I'm wondering if the cold weather helped things feel easier. This is the first time I've trained straight through the winter--and what a winter it's been. Snow and freezing temperatures like crazy--remember the sweatcicles? I'm sure it helped build up stamina. The only issue now is that temps are warming up fast and I haven't adjusted to the temperatures yet--yikes!
- I recovered exceptionally well from the Great Bay Half-Marathon. Last time I did a Half-Marathon before a Marathon it took me a full week to get back into the groove of training. This time I was back in training mode the first day back.
- I still have trouble with 20 milers. Ugh, one day I'll get these down.
- Since I'm going for a rather ambitious goal of 3:40 for this race (a full 10 minutes off my PR, yikes!) I want to try running with a pacer. I guess I have to feel out the pacer and their strategy before the race and make my decision there, but I really only hear good things about pacing groups.
- I'm having doubts as to whether I should make a playlist for this Marathon. First, if I do end up with a pacing group, I'm sure it would be rude/unbenefitical to listen to Liam during the race. Second, there is so much going on during this race--150,000 spectators, 20,000 runners, water stops every mile, entertainment virtually every quarter-mile--that I'm wondering if I'll even need the music. I will probably end up going through the motions and creating a playlist knowing full well that I will only list to a fraction of it.
7 comments:
I'm sure you're not under-trained. I bet you feel so good and you feel like it's easier because your body is just becoming more accustomed to the rigorous training. Your doubts are just part of taper madness. Good luck in the next week as you prepare for the big race next week!
YES! Sweatcicles! I honestly think that was one of the posts that brought me to your blog.
You'll do great. Trust your training. You say yourself that your training has gone better this time - trust it.
Pace groups are interesting. I've used them with limited success. limited because they always feel the need to try to run negative splits and I never can. Keep me posted on how that goes. I too am going to use one for a 10+ min PR. :-O
I think it is so much better to be undertrained than overtrained. Of course there's a fine line between the two. Best thing is to trust in your training and believe that you've done enough to get you where you want to go. I've heard the Pig's hills can be treacherous, so make sure you keep the pace and effort even. Good luck!
3:40, why the hells not? Go get it homie! ;D ;D
I've never used a pacer--so I'm not any help there. But I will definitely be interested in hearing how it goes should you decide to do it!
In terms of your training, I think you are right where you should want to be. If the training felt easier this time around, you may really surprise yourself and feel AMAZING on race day. It could just be that this stuff is getting easier for you!
Race day is so close! YAY! Good luck! :)
i really liked running with a pacer.. I just followed the little stick and felt like hey i'm on track :)
You're going to do awesome! Just trust in all the hard work you've put in. Enjoy the experience!
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