Marathon #4; the good, the bad and the ugly.

Let's take them in reverse order because the good was very good and the other two can be dispensed with quickly.

THE UGLY

This is a totally personal thing and has nothing to do with the event itself. I'm very frustrated with myself for having a delusional goal for this race. I worked hard and I really thought I was finally going to break 5 hours and 30 minutes. Not only did I miss that mark, I came in 7 minutes slower than my previous best (my 1st in 2008). I'm not disappointed (afterall I did start and finish) but I'm frustrated at my failure to be realistic in my abilities.

THE BAD

And really this is minor. The race was great. But all except the first and last miles were open to traffic. This was an issue early on when runners were still bunched up. At times there were cars coming in both directions. In the end, the cars had to figure out where to go we just kept running. I did not hear about any people accidents but I did see a dead rabbit, a dead racoon and a dead turtle. Not sure if they were casualties of the race or not but they were pretetty ugly.

Down to hours

According to my little countdown widget there are no more days left, just hours. 22 hours and change until the start of the Gettysburg Marathon. It is a gorgeous day here in Media, Pa. I'm hoping it follows me west and holds until tomorrow. Weather.com is forecasting temps from 51 at 7 am to 62 at 2 pm.;humidity hovering around 50-60%; partly cloudy. I'm not sure it could be any more perfect! It will be a chilly start but will be fine once we get moving.

This is my second travel race. Hershey being the first. Well I guess technically Disney was one too but it felt different since I was staying with KT and JL (sister and brother in law). Anyway, packing was crazy. I have two of everything which is probably a mistake cause then I have to take time to decided what to wear. I'll make a decision tonight in the hotel room and stick with that. I'm glad I packed my ear covering for the early chill. Guess I'll use a trash bag for early morning warmth. Small race so not sure if they will pick up clothes if I bring an old sweatshirt. Maybe I'll go throw one in and ask at packet pick up if we can discard along the route. I also packed a bagel and peanut butter, water and fruit cups. Don't want to have to go looking for breakfast in the morning.

Leaving here around noon. I'm going to take route 30 rather than the turnpike. This will probably add about 20 - 30 minutes to the drive but it will be very relaxing especially on a day like today. I'm taking my camera for pictures today. I'm not carrying it with me running though. I just want to run this one. It won't fit in my belt anyway. I needed 8 gels with my every 3 mile strategy. I managed to fit them all in my water belt no need for an extra pouch. My belt is going to be a bit heavy to start and it will get ligther as I go. It's all good.

No camera means no after race pictures but I will make sure to get a pic of the medal to post :)

Ok I guess I better finish getting ready; go grab a trash bag and sweatshirt. See y'all again last Sunday :)

Going a little it crazy...

I honestly don't remember being this nuts before my previous marathons. (pause while someone makes the joke about my degree of nutness). Seriously, I am going crazy. I feel fat (I'm not), I feel klutzy (ok I am that but not quite in the way I feel it right now) My left ankle and my right foot hurt. I can't figure out if it's phantom or not. I want it to be Sunday so badly. I'm too old to be wishing my life away but I'm doing it anyway. I'm restless. All I can wish for now is that all this nervous energy will come to some good on Sunday.

*sigh* ...

Taper activity

So I may have found the perfect taper "get-your-mind-off-the-race" activity for me.

Last night it starting raining...and raining and raining and raining. I've had enough running in snow, ice, rain and related gunk. There isn't anything I can do to improve my readiness for Gettysburg so I went to bed knowing that I would not run this morning. I also knew I'd likely wake up questioning that wisdom. Which may explain why I didn't really sleep well last night. Fits and starts through most of it. But I did  manage to stay in bed until 7:45.

After a quick breakfast I donned my painting clothes and painted the ceiling, two walls and trim in our back bedroom. The roof had leaked into it. We finally saved the money to have the roof repaired. Dave finished the prep work yesterday. (that's our deal; he preps, I paint). It's a small room and only two walls needed repainted. I spent 2 hours, painting and cleaning brushes and rollers. And not once during that time did I think about the race.

Of course I am now which is why I'm bloggin right now but for two hours I let it go and didn't fuss about not running today. If I do two marathons a year I might actually finish painting the rest of the house in good order. :)

Thoughts before Gettysburg (Marathon #4)

One week from Sunday is race day.

My number one goal is always to have fun and finish and this race is no different.

I will admit out loud this time that I really want, almost need, to score a PR here. That means beating 5:37:51 - the time of my first marathon (Philly 2008). I really believe I can do that. In fact, barring any unforseen (knock on wood) major physical breakdown, I should beat it significantly but I will stop short of defining significantly right now. This race will be 'won' or 'lost' in my mind and on my fueling/hydrating. I've trained well, including the hills. My body feels ready and I know I can do the distance; I've done it before. My two 20 mile runs were good. Although my running since the last 20 miler has been sporadic, the ones I've done have been well-done.

Fueling/Hydrating
I'm going to steal an idea from my friend Pete's 100 mile run to get my fueling right. I'm going to write down what I want to do and tape it to the bottom of my shirt. This will look funny no doubt but I have never been (nor do I aspire to be) a fashion statement and especially not while running. I want to take gels every 3 miles and an endurolyte every 5. Instead of trying to remember that and remember when I last took my stuff, I'm going to write it out; Mile 3 Gel, Mile 5 Pill etc and tape/pin it to my shirt. I have to remember to tape it upside down so I can read it. Standing on my head during a marathon is not a trick I've mastered yet. As for water, I will wear my hydration belt and take sips every walk break and at the water stops. Since I generally don't drink the entire cup I'll use the extra to keep my bottles filled.

Staying strong mentally
The mental toughness is going to be necessary for all the hills. I have no idea what they actually look like. I have studied (and studied and studied and studied....) the elevation chart from on mapmyrun.com and read the comments from folks on the Gettysburg Marathon Facebook page. Everyone's definition of rolling hills is different. But from all that I imagine nothing more difficult than I have to do when I run around Media or at Valley Forge but that it's hill after hill after hill. I will not let that get inside my head. Here is my strategy:

3 min run/ 1 min walk intervals for the first 20 miles. I may run the first mile depending on how crowded it is. It's difficult to do intervals when elbow to elbow. I don't want to annoy other runners. After a mile it should thin out. I will channel last night's run for that first mile though and go easy and relaxed. Easier said than done sometimes but I will do it. After the first mile I intend to stick to my 3 and 1's without fail for the first 20 miles regardless of where I am on any hill. I'm going to focus on posture during the run portions. I find I run better that way. The less hunched over I get the less tense I get in my shoulders and back. But I have to focus on it. I also find I can hold my pace better that way too. I will concentrate on keeping the pace up while walking with a few duck walk steps to keep my back and hips loose. More proof that I don't care what I look like when I run.

At mile 18.5 the course is almost all downhill through the end. Being an out and back course I will have climbed up this same 7.5 miles at the front end of the race so I'll know what to expect assuming I can remember that long. I will continue with my 3 and 1's until the 20 mile mark or the first water stop between 18 and 20. Then, if my legs are feeling good I would like to lengthen the run portions. I'd like to start running to water stops at that point. Water stops are allegedly every 2 miles. I'll channel last night's run again and try for relaxed and easy. The hard part here will be what to do if my legs do not feel good. I will have to remain strong and not give up. I can stick to 3 and 1's for the rest of the miles if I have to. I don't want to give up and walk the whole way. Another minor issue will be resisting the urge to run through my walk breaks on the downhill portions before 18. I have to remember the purpose of the intervals is to save my legs for the later miles.

So there it is. One more week and I can test it out. I. Can't. Wait. :)