am) 1.5 miles easy jogging. Then 1 mile in 5:30 (max HR 153).. jog easy for 800 meters... 800 meters in 2:30 (Max HR 166). .5 miles easy jogging to finish.
My back is still twinging and fairly painful but as you can see I am able to run. The thing I am concerned with is the later miles of the marathon and my core getting fatigued from compensation. Benji Durden has helped me with suggestions for my race strategy for Sunday. In Benji fashion it a simple one.. start easy then speed up. So it is- I 'll start with my HR at 160-165 for the first several miles. I hope to not concern myself with pace although I am confident I'll be near my goal of 5:43 per mile. This will put me on for a 2:29:59 marathon. I'm breaking the race in to 3 sections. 13 miles/ 5 miles/ 8 miles. The first 13 are relaxed/ the next 5 are holding pace and preparing (mentally) for the last 8/ the last 8 are all out. I have chosen 8 miles because the course I do all of my hard running on is exactly 8 miles. I have suffered a lot on this course- so during the race I will put myself (in my head) on my training course and hope that I can suffer.
The thing bothering the most is that there are no gels on the course, just Powerade and water, so I will need to carry gels for the whole run. A trivial annoyance- I know! I'm used to the excellent organization of Ironmans and their amazing ability to support the athlete.. running races don't seem like they have it figured out yet. (See the Chicago race this past year! It got up to whopping 80 degrees (ha) and the race organization floundered in the logistics of actually having to provide water! Kona is run at 100 degrees on an Island in the Pacific and they run flawlessly!) But- if that's the least of my worries then I guess I'm good to go! I'm about certain that my back is going to give me problems, but I expect it, so I hopefully will be able to just deal with it.
This morning I ran 6 miles very easy.. my legs feel like I'm tapering (so that means not great) and my back is tight.
4 comments:
Tim - are you going with half tights? If so, pretty easy to pin in several gels into the waist band ... obvious I know. I carried six gels on Pikes last year in regular shorts pinned into the waistband.
Another option if you wear a hat is to pin them there.
... but I agree ... most road races have yet to figure out that it is about racers and supporting them.
GZ
What is your RPE for each of those sections? I was wondering the other day during my long run how much the folks at the pointy end suffer during a race that long.
Tim, you only have a few days left before your race. DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. The symptoms of your back are entirely mental. I promise you.
You're probably thinking to yourself "who is this guy? And what qualifies him to give me advice?" Well, I have no qualifications. But I also lost a good part of a racing season to back problems. I've never been an elite level athlete. But I consternate just the same.
To make a long story short, you have nothing to worry about. Don't even worry about your back. Just keep in mind the few simple things you already know; You've trained for this event to the best of your ability, you are prepared. You have no control over course conditions or who else shows up. You will be ready and you will do your best. For the next few days, enjoy your taper, enjoy the extra time you have with your family.
If you want further reading, I suggest:
http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Back-Pain-Mind-Body-Connection/dp/0446392308/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202843611&sr=1-1
I have no relationship with the author. I've just been reading your blog the past few days and knowing exactly what's going on in your head. Let it go. Distract yourself if you have to. But most of all, don't worry about it. Have a great race, we all know you will.
GZ's idea is best...in your compression-type short.
Also, Lucho, if you can, you could always stash a few gels out on the course. This isn't considered outside aid and since the race doesn't provide them, you should easily be able to justify it to yourself. No sense depleting yourself if the day is going good.
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