I went to the track tonight to see the ice and snow first hand. Talk is of a final trot together on Thursday at 10:00 meeting at the Starbucks on Madison near the lake.
SUNDAY's RACE: Let me preface this by saying how proud Rachel and I are of your hard work. I remember seeing many of you at the "meet the coach" session, and thinking, "I don't know if they'll be ready in time." But I've been amazed by the progress. You guys are strong, have great endurance, and have run some really hard training runs. I hope you can enjoy each mile of the race, and thank your body for its ability to run and be so strong. And when you start to have a melt down, think of where you were three months ago, and celebrate the accomplishment.
RACE TIPS: below are some practical (hopefully) tips pre/during/race
1. sleep: this is important to focus on NOW and in the next few days. That way, if you don't sleep well the night before the race, it won't be such a big deal.
2.Clothes: you can pack a bag to check. Even if someone is coming to pick you up, it's a good idea to have your phone checked and some warm clothes to change into. Don't give this to your friend. If for some reason you do not find each other right away, you need to get out of the sweaty clothes and into some dry ones. Bringing baby wipes might be a good idea. There is a place to check your bag prior to the race and a place to change post race.
3. Night before: Eat something you know will agree with you the next day. Get all your clothes ready, and pin your bib number on to the shirt you will end up in (you might have a jacket over it early on).
4. Race day: breakfast-you'll be up early. Eat something you know works. For me, that's a bagel with peanut butter and honey and a banana eaten about an hour to 90 mins before. You should know what works for you from our long runs.
-during race nutrition: bring a gel or whatever you've been using in the long runs. Better to have too many than to get low on blood sugar.
-Pre-race bathroom: Go to Center House where there is an indoor area AND toilets in the back. An amazing amount of people do NOT know about this and wait at the port-o-potties. Crazy. Go for the heated building after you've checked your change of clothes bag.
5. Taking off layers: A friend on the course can take that jacket that is now wrapped around your waist. I will be at the top of the Madison hill for as long as I can, so feel free to hand off to me. You can get it at the brunch or whenever.
6. The start. Are you in it for fun? Then don't sweat the fact that you may not cross the starting line until 5 minutes after the gun goes off. Your chip will get your time. Be careful of going out too fast because that first mile is downhill, but the last few sure aren't. If you are shooting for a time below 2 hours, don't be afraid to muscle your way closer to the front. You don't want to have to pass tons of people in the first couple of miles. That's a poor way to lose minutes from your time.
7. You're feeling crappy: Well, it is a half marathon. You may have an amazing race, or you may feel great for some miles and terrible for others. Remember that you have the fitness to get through the hard parts.
8. "I didn't get the time I wanted". But...you did just train for a half marathon, and you did just run a half marathon, and you are really fit, and you were just on an insanely hard course. Keep some perspective. This is not the course where personal bests happen. However, this is a great course to run AND THEN run another half on a less insane course.
9. PHOTO FINISH: my dears...they WILL have your exact to the second time online later that day. Finish with some style. Have you any idea how many photos I have of myself looking at my watch, stopping the watch, fussing? Terrible. Put your arms in the air and be the victorious strong person you are. Then mess with your watch.
10. You finished. Drink water. Get some chocolate milk. Change your clothes and then wander around for free samples.
11. BRUNCH: with friends or with us up the hill. Enjoy! Even if you go out for brunch, give a call and stop by if we're still going: 931 0064
brunch is at: 814 19th ave just south of Marion (about 6 blocks west and 2 blocks north of the track). I'm guessing we'll start about 10:30-11? Come when you can.
12. What's next? Well, we do have that very cute flier you saw for the Winter Conditioning. You guys who did the half training get $5 off .
13. And then...give yourself a bit of an off season. This doesn't mean you stop exercising. Run modestly, ski, box, take an aerial class. Leave the watch at home. Have fun without having to think about how far / how fast. In January, we'll start up with a program to sustain the running through the Jan-March months.
13.1: ROCK and ROLL half training... hmmmm
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