Now I must be tapering hardcore!
At the races:
"I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."
-- Dick LeBeau
On the road again...
Clive - Have fun up in Richmond. That was my first marathon and I loved it. They do a great job, and I'm sure you'll have a great race.
I write. I read. I run. One time, I ran a lot on my 50th birthday.
Paul
Cliff, tell Clive good luck this weekend at Richmond. What is your hydration and nourishment plan for the race? What is your gear plan (wearing your pajama top again? split-singlets? what shoes? compression socks?)?
Rob
Little-girl's-pajama-top singlet; Brooks shorty-shorts; Brooks PureCadence w/Injinji lightweight toe-socks; gloves; possibly those hideous lime-green CEP calf sleeves. Crappy old long-sleeve t-shirt to throw away early. Might take a ballcap, weather depending.
Planning on a gel every 5-6 miles through 20-22, the last with caffeine. Only water on the course.
Not sure who cliff is but I'll wish good luck to Clive. No pressure or anything but he'll crush his goal.
Funny think the less I run, the more aches I seem to have, no injury, but some undefined tightness and stuff. Thinking this is just part of the healing process. Will start training for Spring races soon.
Cliff (who is the unofficial spokesperson for Clive) -
Thought about you during my long run this morning. Hope the Richmond Marathon went well for you.
3:18:38. Race report coming, but the short story: I thought I was in 3:15 shape, felt really good race morning and decided to go for 3:12-3:13. Held it until pretty deep into the race, then paid the price a bit and was forced to slow down late. Not a total falling-apart, though -- I lost ~5min to the overly ambitious target (despite squandering another ~2min to pit stops).
Still, it's a PR by just under 20 minutes. And a BQ by better than 10 minutes. Can't complain about that!
Congrats on the PR and the BQ! That's a huge PR.
Clive,
congrats on the PR and BQ. Looked at your log...were you Gallo-walking starting at mile 21 or getting water at the aid stations? Did the weather play a factor given how unusually warm it was (did it get warmer thru the morning) and did that play a factor? Were you stuck in the back at the start or did you purposely run the first mile "slow"? Inquiring minds want to know?
"Were you Gallo-walking starting at mile 21 or getting water at the aid stations?"
Two years ago at Twin Cities, I stopped sweating by 21mi, and then muscle cramps ensured 2-3 miles later. Paranoid about that, I took on two cups of water at every aid station (every 2mi through 20, then every mile through 25). Starting at about Mile 18, I walked through them to make sure I got the full two cups in me and not on me (or up my nose).
But yeah, the Gallowalking was implemented every half-mile or so at about 24-ish, when my body told me I'd over-reached and was starting to tie up/crash. Walking for 35-40sec seemed the way to manage the calf while losing as little time as possible, compared to just slowing down to a plod.
"Did the weather play a factor given how unusually warm it was (did it get warmer thru the morning) and did that play a factor?"It was about 40* at the start but warmed to low 60s by the finish. And it was a cloudless, sunny sky. Definitely felt the heat, but I can't really complain -- I'm sure it was nothing compared to Boston 2012.
"Were you stuck in the back at the start or did you purposely run the first mile 'slow'?"
I got to the start chute at 7:50 and couldn't get anywhere near Corral 1 or the 3:15 pace group. Barriers up for the first blocks, with volunteers keeping people from scaling/moving them. I tucked in well behind the 4:15 pacers, and it was just sardine city. Even after we were able to "run", it was really tight for a while -- using a chopped stride and trying not to get taken down.
Is a 7:45 pace mile one so bad when compared to a 7:30 paced race considering little or no warm up (presumably for a marathon). Maybe if you were lined up with the 3:15 group, you'd have gone out at 6:30 - 6:45 pace for a couple of miles possibly coming back to haunt you later. For the half marathons I've run I was always surprised to find my pace about 30 seconds faster than I thought I was running and even up to a min/mile faster than I intended to.
The first mile was more like a quarter-mile @ 9:00, then a quarter-mile @ 8:00, then a half-mile @ 7:00.
I think if I'd managed to line up with the 3:15'ers, I'd have gone out at their clockwork 7:25 pace. (Well, that was the plan, anyway.) For the few miles I was with them, they seemed to be moving right on pace.