First of all, to those of you who donated, thank you so much. It really means a lot to me and I appreciate your generosity.
The race is less than 2 weeks away! It feels like so long ago when I registered for this not knowing what the heck I was doing or getting myself into. Right now I am surprisingly not nervous at all. I am insanely excited, though. I feel really confident in my training and while I know it's going to be hard, I know I can do this. I'm going to spend this week working on my race plan at the suggestion of Coach Jack. I've never really done this before but since this is such a big deal, I'm going to follow the guidance of someone who's been down this road before. So, what's involved in a race plan...
Agenda - Agenda for race weekend so I know where I need to be when. This will help eliminate being on my feet too much the day before and ensure I get done what needs to get done.
Checklist - A complete list of everything I'm going to need for race weekend. Assemble items at least a few days prior to the race and make sure crew and pacers have what they will need for the day.
Hydration strategy - How often do I intend to take in fluids?
Nutrition strategy - What is my schedule to take in energy and how frequently. What products will I use? How will I carry it?
Race course layout - Study the course map. Know where the fluid stations will be, etc.
Pacing strategy - Stick to what I trained with and adjust as needed. Discuss with my pacer how I want to run with them.
Feedback and adjustment - Establish a series of check points for the race to assess how I feel and decide if adjustments need to be made.
Weather adjustments - Check weather close to race day and fine tune plan at that point to make adjustments for extreme heat, rain, etc.
Mental strategy - Think about how I will handle the mental challenges this run presents. Be sure to generate positive vibes as negativity doesn't help anyone.
Go/No-Go plan - Give myself the option to call it a day if I have to. Discuss with my crew and pacers the criteria I will use to assess this.
Hopefully I'll be back by the end of the week with my plan in place!! The one I really don't want to think about is the "Go/No-Go plan." I don't want no-go to be an option!!
21 comments:
Wow that is a lot to think about.
Best of luck with this, I'm sure you'll be kicking some asphalt!
Looks like you have everything accounted for!
Dean Karnazes has on his blog this week a discussion about racers and crewers - it could be good to check out. I suggest sharing every one of the items in your post with your crew before the race, so they know exactly what you're thinking and there's no guessing or miscommunication.
You'll be great!
It better be an option! Listen to your body!
You have a wonderful plan with lots of support around you. You've done all the training, and are a strong runner, you'll do great!
I think the go/no go plan is important. You don't want your crew to let you stop if you really, really don't need to -- and, you don't want them to let you continue on if you really, really shouldn't! Having a plan will serve you all well, I'm sure.
You sound very well prepared!! NICE :)
Wow it is a lot to do! Have fun with that!
I think I figured out the problem with me and running....I got tired just looking at that list :)
Actually sounds like a lot of fun and I'm getting so excited for you!
Ronnie
It looks like you are in the zone and thinking and planning all the right things, you will do amazing!
you are going to be sooo ready girl!!! SO SO SO excited for you!
Wow time is flying by! Sounds like you have all your bases covered. You are going to be ready to kick butt!
I'm impressed with how well thought out your strategy is.
You've trained beautifully & so strong - I'm excited for you!
What a list! Looks like you have thought of everything.
A lot of thought goes into a race like this! Good luck working out all the details and I look forward to reading your final plan.
You've put in the training, now you just need to wrap up your plan and you'll be good to go! It's going to be so exciting!!
We're headed out of town today and I'm not sure how often I'll be able to get on a computer for the next couple weeks, so just in case I don't get to comment before the big day, I wanted to wish you good luck! You will be amazing - I'm positive of it. Just remember - it's only 8.4 miles around, so you're never too far from anything that you'll need.
And don't forget to give Rocky a high five on at least one of the loops :)
You're doing Philadelphia proud - I can't wait to read about it!!
Oh man I'm so excited for you. Can't wait for the 2 weeks to fly by and read the race report!
Ican't believe it is so close!! you are going to do great!
I really like this checklist, in fact, I'm starring it on my Google Reader to remember for my marathon in October!
Good luck, you will rock it and have a great time.
Rather than just look at the race map I like to get out on the course for at least a portion of it so I know what to expect. Having all the information is great motivation when running a race because you know how much farther and what other difficult sections you still have to run. There are plenty of ways you can recon your race course, check it out:
http://www.seriousrunning.com/blog/events/reconning-the-race-course/
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