So, we’re getting down to the wire—literally and figuratively. I’ve reached my goal, which was $526.20 over my minimum fundraising requirement because I wanted a figure with 26.2 in it somehow. It was a way to commemorate the stupidity of me doing a full marathon. But now that I’ve trained all summer, I actually think I can do this!
Below: Final Training Run, 20 miles in Monterey, CA
We just had our last training run: 20 flat miles on the beautiful Monterey coastline. Compared to the hilly 19 miles we did in San Francisco to “preview” the marathon course, it was easy. I did them both in about 4.5 hours. I’ve heard from other veteran marathoners that I should treat the first 20 miles “as a warmup for the hardest 10k of my life.” At first, I was intimidated by this description. But now, it makes sense. Coach Tim told us all season long that we should “start slow, then slow down.” I am starting to see the wisdom of this.
In preparation for the big race, I am doing a half marathon this Sunday. It’s strange, but it’s the same event I trained for last year. What a difference a year makes! But this is going to give me a chance to test out my race strategy. My goal is to keep a steady, 12min/mile pace for 4 minutes, then walk at a fast, 16min/mile pace for a minute, and repeat this interval until at least the halfway point. Then, based on how I feel, I can step up the pace of the run intervals to 11min/mile or 10:30/mile and slow the walk intervals so I can stretch a bit. But the goal is to run the second half of the race faster than the first (called a “negative split” in runners terms) and finish strong.
Below: GPS Tracking from the 2012 San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon
I did this race in 2:45 last year and could probably beat that by a good margin this year, but my goal isn’t to do that. I need to practice restraint at the start of the race to save my legs for the end. During the marathon, I will have to do this throughout the first 20 miles so I can finish strong. So if I can stick to a plan for this entire race—and not wear myself out, since I am in the taper portion of my training—I will have more confidence in this strategy during the marathon.
Anyway, it’s been really exciting taking such huge strides as a runner. I still do not enjoy running, but the better I get at it, the less I hate it. I will have to find a way to keep running 10-15 miles/week during winter cycle season to maintain a base level of fitness until the next time I join the run team. Maybe by the end of next season, I’ll actually like it… or maybe not. 🙂