All the workouts are done, and I am ready to run marathon #15. I will head over to Berlin tomorrow afternoon, I can't wait to see the city and the course. There is nothing else I can do other than relax and wait until Sunday morning. Easy to say, not so easy to do. Experience plays an important role in how you handle the days that lead to your race. I now have a routine that I try to follow as much as I can.
I do the last run of my program 72 hours before my race. It is a 4 mile easy run with a few strides. I let the legs go as fast as they can. This run builds my confidence and allows my legs to stretch and get ready for the race. It has been a difficult summer. The heat and humidity of New Orleans got the best of me. On friday, I take the day completely off... no running. The day before the race I go out and do a couple of easy miles, nothing serious. I eat carbs and drink lots of fluids in the 36 hours that preceed the marathon. My breakfast i very light on race day. It includes a coffee, a bagel and 2 bananas...
As I reflect on my training, I realize that I have never trainined in those conditions. I had very difficult moments, but I don't think about those moments now. I instead think about the positive things that I experienced during my training. I think about my previous marathons, the good and the bad...I want to keep the good and find a solution for the bad. I imagine myself running mile by mile feeling strong. I plan my hydration strategy for the race and my diet for the last few hours before the marathon. I think about the finish line. I also think about myself. In particular, I think about the transformation that I have experienced since I started running marathons seriously. I am faster and stronger... I sometimes ask mysefl: why didn't you train like this when you were 24 years old? Reality is that everything has its own time, and I can't be thankful enough for having the opportunity to do what I love doing without any constraints. Besides the physique, I have also experienced an incredible mental transformation . Marathon running has given me an invaluable opportunity to discover that I impose my own limits...that there is nothing I can't do. I used to run marathons at the back of the pack... not anymore.
My workouts suggest that I am in great shape. I sometimes think that I have never been as stronger and faster as I am today. But the marathon deserves respect. It's a grueling distance. If you make a mistake before or after the race, you pay a very high price. The only thing one can do is to train hard and hope for the best on race day. I am still struggling with the strategy for this race. I feel great and want to go for it since mile 1. Yet, I have had my best performances when I keep a steady pace in the early stages of the marathon. Thus, I am not sure what to do on Sunday. I guess I will just play it by ear and let my legs do the talking (and the running) in the first kilometers. I now I can finish, I just don't know how fast I can do it...
I do the last run of my program 72 hours before my race. It is a 4 mile easy run with a few strides. I let the legs go as fast as they can. This run builds my confidence and allows my legs to stretch and get ready for the race. It has been a difficult summer. The heat and humidity of New Orleans got the best of me. On friday, I take the day completely off... no running. The day before the race I go out and do a couple of easy miles, nothing serious. I eat carbs and drink lots of fluids in the 36 hours that preceed the marathon. My breakfast i very light on race day. It includes a coffee, a bagel and 2 bananas...
As I reflect on my training, I realize that I have never trainined in those conditions. I had very difficult moments, but I don't think about those moments now. I instead think about the positive things that I experienced during my training. I think about my previous marathons, the good and the bad...I want to keep the good and find a solution for the bad. I imagine myself running mile by mile feeling strong. I plan my hydration strategy for the race and my diet for the last few hours before the marathon. I think about the finish line. I also think about myself. In particular, I think about the transformation that I have experienced since I started running marathons seriously. I am faster and stronger... I sometimes ask mysefl: why didn't you train like this when you were 24 years old? Reality is that everything has its own time, and I can't be thankful enough for having the opportunity to do what I love doing without any constraints. Besides the physique, I have also experienced an incredible mental transformation . Marathon running has given me an invaluable opportunity to discover that I impose my own limits...that there is nothing I can't do. I used to run marathons at the back of the pack... not anymore.
My workouts suggest that I am in great shape. I sometimes think that I have never been as stronger and faster as I am today. But the marathon deserves respect. It's a grueling distance. If you make a mistake before or after the race, you pay a very high price. The only thing one can do is to train hard and hope for the best on race day. I am still struggling with the strategy for this race. I feel great and want to go for it since mile 1. Yet, I have had my best performances when I keep a steady pace in the early stages of the marathon. Thus, I am not sure what to do on Sunday. I guess I will just play it by ear and let my legs do the talking (and the running) in the first kilometers. I now I can finish, I just don't know how fast I can do it...
