Sunday, April 19, 2009

14 days 'til race day

I had a realization today that I can run a 3:15:xx NJ marathon in two weeks. All this time, I've been worried about not being able to sustain the pace, but today I've come to understand that the pacing won't be the problem. The one problem I've encountered during every fast marathon is cramping. In order to run a 3:15:xx, I'll have to make sure I hydrate properly throughout the race. Last year's NYC marathon was about 3 minutes short of my goal. I brought 4 packets of salt which nearly lasted the whole way. I cramped up at mile 23. I think if I bring 6 packets, taking one every 4 miles, I'm hoping that will stave off the cramping.

So I completed my last long(ish) run for the NJ marathon today. I had planned on doing 13-16. I went for 13. Told Sara I'd be back by 2pm and I used that as an excuse to keep my run short. This training season has gone by pretty quickly. I'm looking forward to more cross training for a couple of months after this race.

Have a race tomorrow, which means that I'll have run 6 of 7 days this week. As expected, my legs don't feel as fresh so I'm not sure how much of a push I'll have. I'm thinking of just doing marathon pace tomorrow, but we'll see. Race report coming tomorrow (actually, today). Race starts in 7.5 hrs.

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