Mission accomplished.
I also spent a part of my limited free time today thinking strategy when it comes to the marathon. With 60 days (OMG!) to go I want to make sure that I am as mentally prepared as physically because something tells me this is going to be a test of my wits as much as my strength and endurance.
Here's the deal:
It's a marathon so it's 26.2 miles or 42 kilometres. That's an insane amount of distance and I don't really want to think about it- at least not in those terms.
I'd rather break this bad boy into parts.
We start in the good ol' U-S of A and complete the first 6 miles there. That's the first objective: Just get home to Canada. Like it or not I can't quit for at least that distance because the Boyfriend doesn't have a valid passport and can't rescue me when I call him with a
Next point of interest is that after the first 6 miles, the water stations are only a mile apart. Given that I have been training with 10 and 1s anyway and I walk through water stations as a general rule, this will divide the rest of the race up quite nicely.
If you are not quite following along, the plan is to run to each station (which ideally will take about 10 minutes anyway) then walk through the stations, thereby avoiding the almost inevitable water spillage and or choking hazard trying to run through them would cause.
Now, as far as fueling is concerned my body likes gels and Clif Bloks and does not like most liquid fuels (aka: Gatorade, eLoad etc) So the plan is to drink water and consume the electrolytes via the food-like stuff. I will take the first dose at the 50 minute mark and then another 1/2 every 40 minutes. All told that's about 4 gels total (assuming I stick to gels).
Given that I need water shortly after a gel and don't want to be weighed down by a hydration belt, I will probably change this up a little when I am out there. I will probably also make the Boyfriend bring me Cherry Blasters but that's just because I'll use any excuse to eat candy.
As for race attire I am thinking cropped pants and layers on top. The weather for the end of October is typically crisp in the mornings with increasing temps through the day. Seeing as I will be running for hours and hours and hours (and hours and hours) I will need to be prepared for an increase in air and body temperature. Clothes won't actually break up the race for me but I kinda promised myself my first pair of Lulu pants for the occasion so I guess it can't hurt either right?!
So here it is; I've got eight weeks, which means 7 more long runs to practice all this genius planning and tweak it if necessary. Since I am not even remotely willing to risk having another race like last weekend, I am definitely sticking to the old "nothing new on race day" advice.
I'm determined to rock this so let the countdown begin!!
So tell me, what advice do you have for this rookie marathoner?
