Tuesday, October 28, 2008

4 Days and Counting

The reality of the race is creeping into my semi-conscious. Last night, I had a hard time sleeping because I was thinking about my race strategy. When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed about being in the race! I don't remember exactly since I did not write about it after I woke up, but I have images of running past water stops in my head.

Before I did lose consciousness, I was trying to play out how I would break down the miles. Here's my preliminary game plan:

mile 1 (uphill on the Verazzano Br. - highest elev in race) | 8:30
mile 2 (downhill easy pickup) | 7:15
miles 3 - 6 | 7:25 - 7:30 | consume gel
miles 7 - 10 | 7:25
miles 10 - 13.1 | 7:20 | Consume gel. Body and mental check. Push? Push harder? :-)
miles 13.1 - 20 | 7:20 -7:25
miles 20 - 22.5 | 7:20
mile 22.5 - 23.5 (uphill!) | 7:50
mile 23.5 - finish | 7:00 - 7:20

Those times should bring me roughly at about 3:14:xx, just ahead of 3:15:00 and an official Boston qualifying time.

Besides that, the other thing that kept me up was the growing anxiety. I have not run a real race since my PR in Brooklyn. All signs and training point to a new PR for me, but I still have to execute.
  • Do I feel faster? Yes. Speed classes. Have also dropped about 5 lbs training.
  • Am I ready for the distance? Yes. Avg'd ~200 miles/mo. the last 3 mo's
  • Do I feel stronger? Yes. Core exercises, calisthenics.
Those "yes" answers make me nervous!

Oh yeah, skipped class tonight because of cold and rain, but went for a short 4 miler with bursts.

1 comment:

Ansky said...

I remember a few days before I ran NYCM last year I had a dream that I could not finish the race. It really freaked me out.

You've run those uphill miles during NYRR Running Class. You know exactly what to expect how to attack it.

You'll do great!