Gear Update:
A pair of nicely broken in (48 miles) 1400v2 and, fresh from the screen printer, my new NB FHR singlet! I'll likely go with a thing long sleeve base layer, thin gloves and some kind of head covering.
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| my first ever club singlet! |
Weather Update: Looking very nice! General rule is it will feel 10-15 degrees warmer than air temps. I'm loving a) partly cloudy b)very little wind c) what little wind there is should be a quartering breeze most of the time, and very rarely a head-wind d) the finishing temp looks nice.
Health Update: I feel really good. My (minor) groin issue has gotten better with the last week of rest..I'm not even sure it was a groin issue anyway...more of like a pelvic thing. Anyway, I've survived taper week without rolling my ankle or falling down any stairs....well, actually I still have a 2-3 mile shakeout tomorrow, so...knock wood?! Running during the taper week wasn't easy for me, I did every run this week at around 5am (as close as I could get to the 7am starting time...) and my legs felt sluggish all week. I received excellent advice throughout the week from and FHR runner on taper workouts, specifically when and how to still incorporate speed work. The hardest part is throughout most of the week, I found myself not thinking of running much, and that bothered me a bit. I've gotten very used to thinking a lot about my last/next run, and what is on the 2-3 week horizon...but now that horizon is down to just a few days, with no real running until Sunday, and that void bothered me throughout the week. I felt like I should be consumed with running (as I have been in the past) but strangely, I wasn't. However, I'm feeling strong (mentally and physically) today and I can't wait to run hard.
Sunday:
For future reference, I really like this pre-race marathon guide/checklist
http://running.competitor.com/2014/01/training/the-48-hour-countdown_7340
Pre-Race plan
4am Wake up
4:15 Breakfast: Coffee, juice, Oatmeal w/ brown sugar, banana, toast, water
4:45 Gear up
5:30 catch ride to downtown
6:15 bag check
6:30 10-12 minutes of slllooooowww jog. leg swings. dynamic stretches, couple of striders.
6:45 head to corral
7:00 race
Race plan:
I've come up with two different loose race plans (mostly based on the elevation profile.) One gets me to a 3:25 PR, and the other gets me to my 3:20 stretch goal. If I'm through the half marathon in 1:42-1:43, then I'm on PR pace. If I'm through the half in 1:39-1:40 than I'm working towards the stretch time. Of course, who knows how the back half will go. A negative split would be nice, especially since the course favors it (imo) but not something I can really plan on.
1st Half Elevation:
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| Philly 1st half elevation |
Miles 1-2: Ease into the race with a pace avg that ranges from 8:08 (pr) to 7:58 (stretch) I know those hills aren't much, but I actually like that the race starts out with some incline. That tends to loosen up my legs, and then when I slight downhill I'll ease into an easy effort level.
Miles 3-10: avg pace target 7:58 to 7:44. Obviously this is a net uphill stretch. I'm just going to be looking for a normal/comfortable effort level here. I won't be wearing a heart rate monitor during the race, but I'm willing to concede 10-15 seconds pace above my targets on the hill at mile 7-8 and 9-10.
Nutrition Plan: The course offers a cliff shot at mile 10, and I may take a power gel at mile 6. I plan on consuming about 30 (2 packs) of sport beans evenly throughout the race.
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| Philly 2nd half elevation |
Miles 11-18 Avg pace target 7:48 down to 7:36. Mile 10-12 are a bit more concerning to me than the uphill sections that precede this down-slope. At that point in the race, if I'm feeling comfortable, there could be an inclination to drop my pace close to 7 min/mile without thinking, but I think I'll be better served at the late stage of the race if I ease through this downhill section closer to 7:30. I especially need to be aware of all the half marathoners who should be going all out from mile 10-13. No need to get caught up in that!
Nutrition Plan: The course offers a cliff shot at mile 17, and I may take a power gel at mile 13.
Miles 19-23: Avg pace target 7:40 down to 7:28. Obviously I'm planning on really feeling good over this stretch! The turn-around of the out-and-back of Kelly Dr is around mile 20, and my hope is that when I hit that turn-around, I can increase my effort level, knowing that from that point on you're headed straight back to the finish line, and over this stretch there is a bit of a net down-hill.
Nutrition Plan: The course offers a cliff shot at mile 22, and I may take a power gel at mile 18 or 19.
My goal is to consume 3-4 gels and 30 sport beans (2 bags). That should provide me with something like 200 in race carbs, and doesn't include what I'll get from gatorade.
Miles 24-26.2: No plan other than run as hard as I can! My watch will tell me how I am tracking vs my goals in the form of an average pace for the run (as well as my pace for each lap I'm on.) At that point in the race, it is very tough to "move the needle" of the average pace, so hopefully I'm at or below my target pace range of 7:37 (stretch) to 7:50 min/mile. Hopefully I will be running near people who are like-minded/like-paced. If I'm in a position where I'm running a negative split, then there is a possibility that I'll be passing people at this point, but I would actually rather be moving at the same strong pace as other runners.
And that's all there is to it!
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