Marathon Training – Week 16 – Goals etc

All my training is complete and the marathon is less than 24 hours away! Earlier today I went down to the race expo to pick up my race packet, shirt, timing chip and bib number. The plan for the rest of the evening is to stay off my feet as much as possible, hydrate and carbo load (but not too much of either) and then try to get to bed as early as possible. The marathon start gun is at 8:15am tomorrow morning which means I’ll be setting my alarm for about 5:45 am or so. It’s a good think I’m a morning person!

26/11	5.0 miles	Tempo run: 3mi @ 9:05 min/mile (treadmill)
27/11	-	Rest day
28/11	3.0 miles	Easy run: 11:06 min/mile (treadmill)
29/11	-	Rest day
30/11	26.2 miles	Marathon Race Day!
Total	34.2 miles	YTD: 1179.3 miles

Since this will be my last post before the marathon I thought it would be a good idea to write down my race goals.

• Goal #1: Under four hours – 3:59:59>
• Goal #2: Set a new PB – <4:25:13
• Goal #3: Stay mentally strong and finish the race

I really believe that if I have a good day I can break four hours. My race plan is to try and average a steady 9:09 min/mile. I’m fully prepared for my first mile to be slow. That’s fine because I probably won’t do too much of a pre-marathon warm-up. I need to save all the energy I’ve got for race. I also expect a few of the uphill miles to be slow but I’m going to resist the temptation to try and make-up for that in the first half and bank time. I figure if I can get through the half in 2:00-2:02 I’ll have a good shot at breaking four hours. The real fun will begin at around mile 20.5 when the hills hit. I know these hills well and I’m just going to have to grit it out and get it done.

The race day weather is still looking really good. In fact, it’s looking perfect!