Wednesday, February 10, 2010

New Marathon PR - Take Two

With only 3 days remaining until race day in Birmingham, I have been spending some time today trying to get myself prepared for the event. Since I went through this mental and psychological exercise not more than 2 weeks ago, getting mentally psyched for the Mercedes Marathon is more of a challenge.

It's not that I need to do anything different than I did two weeks ago   leading up to the Callaway Marathon, but a milestone event such as a marathon, really does require a considerable amount of mental energy to get your head wrapped around what you are going to try and do on race day. That's probably what I like so much about running as many marathons as I do every year.  I do love the mental side of it, probably as much as the physical demands it places on the body. Weird? Yep.

Am I doing anything differently in preparation for this race, compared to the marathon two weeks ago? I'm glad you asked; yes. Since the weather played such a pivotal role on race day two weeks ago, I have been working through possible scenarios that I may face on the course. As of this writing, there is a chance of snow here in Georgia the day before race day. (Global warming, my foot) With that in mind, the temps on race morning are going to be in the 20 degree range. Not too bad, but I'll definitely have to man-up to show up in shorts.

The thing that concerns me more than the temperature is the possibility of a windy morning. A strong head-wind can easilly add 30 seconds per mile to your actual pace, and that would obliterate any hopes of a solid finish time. If I'm lucky, it will be a calm, windless morning. Cold, but I can deal with that.

Finally, crowd support is hopefully going to be present on the course. The reviews of the race at marathonguide.com speak highly of the large spectator participation, and I hope it holds up for this years race. As you have probably felt in races before, a crowd of people cheering for the runners can infuse you with energy and strength, especially in the latter miles. Crossing my fingers on this one...

I am not going to run tonight since it won't have any training benefit whatsoever. I'll take today off and run a 5 and  6 miler on Thurs and Fri respectively. Tapering is so difficult to wrap your head around, and it feels like you are going through withdrawal from some narcotic. Even without any physical benefit in doing so, running, even a few measly miles, has a calming effect in the days leading up to your big event.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like you have another good plan going in to this one!

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