Next, I suggest choosing one of three paths to get the most enjoyment out of your event day, remembering always that running is for the “long run” and not just about one day.
If your training has not gone all that well, and you are just barely able to get to the start line healthy, set your sights on safe completion. Leave your watch at home, forget about time and enjoy the day. Walk, jog, and enjoy the atmosphere and the participation. Finish grateful and graceful. Don’t overdo it.
If your training has been adequate, and your long runs have gone well, I suggest you attempt to mirror your training on race day. Study your pace for your longer workouts and try to hold yourself to that pace for the entire race on race day. If the day is cool and all systems are go, you may surprise yourself and finish strong. Do not be a hero and go out faster than your training will allow. Even if you feel like it, hold yourself back at all costs. Otherwise, you risk a miserable finish.
I can’t stress it enough. Hold yourself back. Numerous times, I’ve gone out with a warrior-like attitude and run a fast 16, 18, or 20 miles, only to run out of gas and have a miserable day.
I never seem to be able to celebrate the fast 16-20 mile run when the finish is miserable. If you go out too fast and beyond your training, you will “hit the wall.” It is like falling off a cliff, or going over a waterfall. One minute you are cruising along and the next you are done. Don’t go there! No will power is strong enough to overcome it.
If your training has been superb, and you have exceeded your build-up targets, you may be ready for a peak performance or PR. If you have been doing speed work and have been racing well in local 5k and 10k events, as well as completing longer runs at prescribed paces, the stage may be set for success.
Check the weather forecast. If it will be a cool, dry morning with temperatures in the 50s or below, let’s gets ready to rumble! I suggest following Alberto Salazar’s race day mental prep. I realize and accept that physically I am as prepared and as healthy, fit, and as fast as I can be. I tell myself so. I tell myself I am ready and rested. I am confident. I know deep down my body will not fail me. I review my training and remember holding a strong pace even when I was tired on my long runs. I remember my recent race performances when I forced myself to relax and hang on to the finish, while my heart and mind screamed slow down and stop.
I begin rehearsing the entire race in my mind. I review the course map, mile by mile, neighborhood by neighborhood, over and over again, and I picture myself running easily at PR pace at every turn.
If there is a video of the entire course on line, I will watch it a few times as a dress rehearsal. Sometimes, I’ll even drive the entire course if I’ve never run it before, always visualizing and imagining myself running well the entire distance.
I know the best guarantee of success is picking a pace that I can maintain the whole way, and I sign up for that pace group for the event day. In so doing, I eliminate the risk of going out too fast and worrying about watching my watch too much during the race. The pace group leader will handle it for me.
A couple days before the race, Salazar recommends rehearsing over and over what your race day response will be when the easy running ends around mile twenty and hanging on is so tough for the last miles.
They say there are two halves to a marathon. The first half is 20 miles, and the second half is 6.2 miles. I would agree. You need to have an answer ready and prepared for how you will finish the second half of the marathon, because there is no question the question will come!
The proper answer, according to Salazar, and it has worked well for me, is “I will do the best I can, I will maintain my form. I will stay relaxed and confident. I will focus on my breathing and the finish line.”
As considerations come up, and they will constantly come up in the last half of any race, I will deflect negativity. I will often say, “so what,” or, “it doesn’t matter” to any and all destructive thinking. I will remind myself I am racing today, and the finish will come sooner than I think if I stay positive and fast.
As the finish approaches, I know from experience there is energy left in the fast twitch muscles for a strong kick and a big smile for the camera at the finish line.
In the end, when you look back, no matter how you finish, it will all be a reflection of your preparation. If you are ready to race, arrive early, warm up well, hold your pace, and finish strong and happy.
To the dozens of Warrenville runners entered in the 2009 Chicago Marathon this Sunday, whether it is your first or fifty-first, enjoy it all.
(Next week—after the big event—now what?)
