End of Training

Since the 10 miler last Saturday, I spent this week running easy, finishing the week with 20 miles. For better or worse, the BEST training program is now complete. The final number for my training comes to 475 miles covered over 76 hours. I think it’s a common feeling at this point to look back and find flaws and deficiencies in your training. I realize that now is not the time to second guess. The race is in two days and I should do whatever I can to be as prepared as possible. But no matter what I do, I won’t become a better more conditioned runner in the next forty eight hours.

It’s too early to rate my race performance and after all that will be the biggest factor in assessing my training. But if I had to grade my training, my report card would be:

Consistency – A
Overall Mileage – C
Training with Purpose – B

In preparation for Sunday, I’m eating lots of carbs. I have not scripted my diet for Saturday night and Sunday morning, but I’m pretty sure that nutrition won’t be a problem. Danny, Peter and I will get down the shore Saturday night and won’t really do much except watch a movie and go to bed. On Sunday morning, I will probably wake up at 6:00AM, three hours before the race. I’ll eat my usual bagel with peanut butter, some fruit and skim milk. I get on the bus at 7:15 to ride to the start. At some point, I’ll have a Power Bar and a 20 once Gatorade. During the race, I’ll stop at every aid station and alternate drinking water and Gatorade. Later in the race, I’ll have a gel with my water. This worked well for both 20 milers.

The temperature at the start of the race is predicted to be 35F and go up to 45F during the race. I plan to run in shorts with a long sleeve shirt covered with a tee shirt. I expect to be cold before the race starts and will likely have a throw away pair of sweats.

The temperature for the race has not and is not a concern to me. The wind is another story. Even with an obvious understanding that the weather is totally out of my control and almost equally hard to predict, I have been watching and tracking the wind forecast for the Sunday. The current forecast is for 10 MPH winds coming from the Northeast at the start of the race. That’s would be a direct headwind. Then the forecast calls for a gradual shift to an easterly cross wind but probably not until the race is over. Clearly, this is not optimal, but it could be worse. From my many days on these same beaches, I know that the wind can shift at any moment. It’s a unknown that adds some excitement to the race.

While it might seem trivial, I still have not decided my Ipod situation. I have run probably 90% of my training miles, listening to music. So I think I will have it with me. I’m still not sure, if I will spend the time to update or change playlists for the run. One of my drawbacks is that my 46 year old eyes have trouble reading the display on my Nano while I am running so I won’t want to be fishing around for music. One option would be to create 4 hour play list and just go with it.

The best news of all is that physically, I am in good shape. From head to toe, I can’t really complain about any lingering ailments. I’m sure that 4 hours on the road will change that, but at least I’m starting fresh.

Finally, I continue to evaluate my pacing plan for the race. All along, I’ve stated that 4 hours was the goal and a 9:00 MPM pace would give me a 4 minute cushion. That has been the goal all along. Last week, I suggested that I need to run according to the way I feel and a controlled relaxed pace was essential for the first half of the race. The reality is, my mind will be constantly calculating and will not allow me to casually decide to run slower just because it feels better. On the other hand, I hope that my legs, lungs and heart, will help me judge the best pace. I expect to reach a balance between mind and body to run a smart race. After all, I do have a pretty good handle on the range of my ability. What causes me to obsess over this is the fact that my goal is pretty much on the fastest end of the range.

So, I’ll keep an eye on the weather and get to the starting line and see what happens. One thing is for sure, I plan to be happy when its over,,, strengthened from the 21 weeks of training and pleased with the outcome.

Then it’s on to the Media 5 Miler.