1 month until my first Mary

Be Zen my friend!!

One thing I've been doing is trying to get to know my mental weaknesses. I have noticed that when I see or hear other people slowing down or talking about taking a walk break, I start to think about doing the same. Now that I know this, I can be prepared and talk myself out of it.

I also think about the course and try to figure out which will be the hardest parts for me. Perhaps the 13 mile mark, where the Half-Marathon participants break off and head to the finish. Perhaps a hill in the last 25% of the race. Perhaps the 20-mile point, where I know I haven't run farther than that. Be prepared for these points. Know they will be hard, and harden yourself to deal with them.

Another good strategy is to break up the race mentally. Give yourself something to do and think about. Perhaps you want to alternate water and sports drink. That means you need to keep track of what mile you are on, and think about the mile when you will next get water, and the one when you will next get sports drink. Study the course maps and aid stations.

A final thing I have been doing on long runs is eating a ShotBlok every 2 miles. Oddly enough, this gives me something to concentrate on other than the total mileage. Sometimes the two miles comes up quicker than I think, and by the time I get out the Shotbloks, squeeze one out, put the package away and chew it up, another quarter mile has passed.

Best of luck!
I am doing my second marathon next month. My first was not good because I tried to do a lot of nutrition and hydration on a cold day, and it upset my stomach, which sent me on a tour of the port-o-johns with horrendous stomach cramps.

I hope yours goes better than that!

x2.  Don't feel the pain; just observe it.

There is one thing you can do between now and then.  On training runs until the race, make sure that you run the second half at the same or slightly faster pace than the first half.  This can help physically over time, but right before the race, I think its important to get that mental and emotional feeling of finishing strong.

During a race, I find it helps to make sure my cadence is strong counting 22 right foot strikes per 15 seconds.  I do better with a higher cadence while running (i.e., more efficient) and I find its easy for me to drop my cadence toward the end.  This mental execise during a race helps me to focus when I'm most fatigued. 


Edited by Gritty 2009-09-18 9:14 AM

If you have the training in place, just find your pace in the race, don't get sucked into a faster pace and nail your nutrition/hydration.  Enjoy the ride and don't break down and walk in the last 3 miles, they will be kind of sucky.  If you feel awsome at the half mary mark, don't up your pace, just hold it, you will feel differently at mile 23.  If the training is there though, you will be fine.  Trust in your training.

So very true my friend.  

Great race tips.

Keep up your training and trust your plan.  Ideally, if you're following a tried and true plan you'll get to the finish maybe with grimacing smile but you'll get there!

Just keep checking in with yourself. It's great to have a race plan, but things don't always go to plan. It's important to remember that if something doesn't go as planned, there are other options. It's hard to remember that when you're tired, hot, and cranky, but it's true. In my first marathon, a much needed gatorade stand was closed down when I came past (And I was MOP) because they had given out full bottles rather than decanting it into cups. I ended up taking an early gel and picking up a nearly full bottle off the ground while running so that I wouldn't keel over.

There's a lot you can't control...weather, other people, etc. But you can definitely control your mind. Are you going to bring an MP3 player? Have a positive song on there, or a song that pumps you up. I went without my IPod for a lot of the run, but in the later stages it really helped me push through. Smile. You'd be surprised at how much smiling relaxes and energizes you, and it makes other people smile and cheer you on.

I did a systems check every mile marker..."How do my feet feel? How do my legs feel? Do I need to back down the pace/cadence or should I let it fly? How's my heart rate? Any blisters forming? Do I need to check my blood sugar? Do I need more water? Do I need a toilet?" After doing that, I'd try to think about how I can address any issues that came up..."Oh boy, getting a bra blister, gotta hit up the St. John's Ambulance guys for Vaseline next time I see them" or "Man I've got to go, I'll have to use the facilities at the 10k mark"...it's all about mindfulness.

PACE YOURSELF !

It's SO easy to get caught up and feel good at too fast of a pace for the first 10-15 miles... but you will pay for it later (says the girl with too much experience doing it).

For most people - myself included - the best way to pace is to pick your predicted finish, divide it by 26.2, and run a consistent pace the whole way.

I've gone out too fast and thought "well, hey, I have a good cushion now for later" --- only to TOTALLY blow up at mile 17 to the end.

If you feel good at mile 20 (ha ), then, by all means, pick up the pace.

Awesome advice everyone.  Exactly what I needed.