Run Like It's Midnight (Comments Welcome)

It's race week!!! Need any advice/ have any questions prior to race day?

I'm in race week panic. As I told my husband, any little anything is making me worry. My foot feels good though, so there's no reason to worry about that.

Today's run during the first mile I was thinking, this is supposed to be easy. How am I going to run 13 miles at a couple minutes faster than this?! It was feeling better by the end of the run though.

Any tips for race morning? I'll be traveling down to my sister's tomorrow night which puts me just 10 minutes from the race.
 
I'm in race week panic. As I told my husband, any little anything is making me worry. My foot feels good though, so there's no reason to worry about that.

Today's run during the first mile I was thinking, this is supposed to be easy. How am I going to run 13 miles at a couple minutes faster than this?! It was feeling better by the end of the run though.

Any tips for race morning? I'll be traveling down to my sister's tomorrow night which puts me just 10 minutes from the race.

Don't worry too much about how the run's feel this week. Your training will carry you through.

I'd recommend the following for race day. Do a 1.5 mile warm-up. Do the first mile at a very easy relaxed pace. During the 0.5 mile do three surges up to what feels like HM pace but only for ~20 seconds. Don't start the next surge until you feel comfortable again. Start the warm-up no sooner than 60 minutes prior to the race but plan the warm-up to end no sooner than 15 minutes prior to the start. Just be really calm in the beginning of the race. Line up with people of similar goal pace but make sure they're running faster than you at the beginning (most people start too fast). Then gradually pick up the pace throughout the race. Don't hit what feels like HM effort until mile 5-6. From there just keep turning up the dial on your pace gradually.
 
I'm in race week panic. As I told my husband, any little anything is making me worry. My foot feels good though, so there's no reason to worry about that.

Today's run during the first mile I was thinking, this is supposed to be easy. How am I going to run 13 miles at a couple minutes faster than this?! It was feeling better by the end of the run though.

Any tips for race morning? I'll be traveling down to my sister's tomorrow night which puts me just 10 minutes from the race.

Taper madness! My only tip is to trust in your training. You'll do great!
 
I'm in race week panic. As I told my husband, any little anything is making me worry. My foot feels good though, so there's no reason to worry about that.

Today's run during the first mile I was thinking, this is supposed to be easy. How am I going to run 13 miles at a couple minutes faster than this?! It was feeling better by the end of the run though.

Any tips for race morning? I'll be traveling down to my sister's tomorrow night which puts me just 10 minutes from the race.

Giiirrrrrlll, I'm right there with you! I'm worrying about every little thing: easy doesn't feel easy!, are my legs sore?, ack the weather is sunny and warmer for race day!, am I carbing/drinking enough water this week?, did I make a huge mistake with surges yesterday?, I don't still don't know how to drink water at a water station, should I have foam rolled so close to race day?, ugh race day is coming up so soon! I was up in the middle of the night worrying (also, because my son woke up in the middle of the night - doesn't he know I need to rest before race day?!) and finally just let go and relaxed and said: whatever happens happens. I don't need to PR, there's other races, don't beat myself up about it!
 


Taper madness! My only tip is to trust in your training. You'll do great!

This!

Giiirrrrrlll, I'm right there with you! I'm worrying about every little thing: easy doesn't feel easy!, are my legs sore?, ack the weather is sunny and warmer for race day!, am I carbing/drinking enough water this week?, did I make a huge mistake with surges yesterday?, I don't still don't know how to drink water at a water station, should I have foam rolled so close to race day?, ugh race day is coming up so soon! I was up in the middle of the night worrying (also, because my son woke up in the middle of the night - doesn't he know I need to rest before race day?!) and finally just let go and relaxed and said: whatever happens happens. I don't need to PR, there's other races, don't beat myself up about it!

This!
 
I can't say enough about the importance of trusting your training. I completely forgot about that my first race and the result was near disastrous. I started off way too fast and felt like I had shin splints less than a half mile in. The excitement and fear of failure in my first race helped me convince myself to run a lot faster than I was actually prepared for. Once I trusted my training and slowed down to what I trained for, things began to turn around.

Don't let fear of failure or doubt cloud your mind. Or as Yoda says, "you will know when you are calm, at peace."
 


Don't worry too much about how the run's feel this week. Your training will carry you through.

I'd recommend the following for race day. Do a 1.5 mile warm-up. Do the first mile at a very easy relaxed pace. During the 0.5 mile do three surges up to what feels like HM pace but only for ~20 seconds. Don't start the next surge until you feel comfortable again. Start the warm-up no sooner than 60 minutes prior to the race but plan the warm-up to end no sooner than 15 minutes prior to the start. Just be really calm in the beginning of the race. Line up with people of similar goal pace but make sure they're running faster than you at the beginning (most people start too fast). Then gradually pick up the pace throughout the race. Don't hit what feels like HM effort until mile 5-6. From there just keep turning up the dial on your pace gradually.

I'll do the warm-up and do my best to take it easy to start. I'm definitely guilty of going out too fast in the past.


Thank you all!! I've made it to my sister's and am going to try to get some sleep. Too late to reply individually, but I appreciate all the words of support and encouragement.

The weather is supposed to be beautiful - around 60F at start time with a dew point of 54.

Looking forward to a great race tomorrow!
 
Gulf Beach Half Marathon Race Recap

I had a busy day before the race - run 3 miles, drop off kid1 for volunteering, grocery store, bake a dessert, pick kid1 up, haircut for kid2 that had been rescheduled, a church function, drop the kids off at my mother's, then finally drive an hour to my sister's to sleep before the race. And somewhere in there I needed to pack my stuff for the race.

I woke up with the start of an ingrown toenail - what the heck! No problem the day before, but as soon as I stepped out of bed I felt the discomfort. I dealt with it as best as I could and hoped it would get better and not worse. Most of the day was fine, if busy. There was a bit of a scramble getting the dessert out of the oven and cooled enough to pack, so we were running a little late getting dd1 before dd2's haircut. This meant that I forgot to pack my backup dinner. The church event included dinner, but I was going to pack myself some chicken since I didn't know what was being served. It ended up being pizza and potato chips with iceberg salad. Not a great choice for me, but I hoped my stomach would survive.

Finally made it to my sister's at 11pm and got settled in. She's just 10 minutes from the race, which was great for me. Mornings and I just don't get along! I checked in here one last time and really appreciated the messages of encouragement! Weather was supposed to be 60F at 8am with relatively low humidity, so happy to see that!

Five o'clock wake up for me (so glad I didn't have the hour drive in he morning!) and my husband had coffee ready for me. Ate my 2 slices of toast with peanut butter and banana and tried to wake up. Packet pick up was 6:30-7:30 with race start at 8. We left just before 6:30 to make sure we got a good parking space and leave time for my warm-up. Only a ten minute drive and I still needed the port-a-potty right when we got there. :confused3



Picked up my bib and shirt and hopped back in the car because it was cold out!! My hands were freezing. Warmed up for a few minutes then hit the port-a-potty again before heading out for my pre-race warm-up at 7:10am. My husband decided he'd run my warm-up with me, so I had some company. As Billy suggested, I did 1.5 miles easy with 3 short surges to race pace in the last half mile. The race was an out and back, so it wasn't really possible for my husband to see me multiple times, so he planned on staying near the start/finish.

I had a pack of sports beans and some water about 15 minutes before the start. There was plenty of time for a couple more stops at the port-a-potty before lining up. This was a smaller race, so there were no pacers or signs for lining up - everyone just kind of mushed in, so I tried to make sure I was in the back half. I had my phone for music, but it had been acting up for about a week where it wouldn't charge all the way and/or would drain the battery quickly. I had done my last long run of 10 miles without music, so I wasn't worried if it gave me trouble. That was good, since when I put my earbud in at the start - nothing. Oh well.



The weather was nice - it had warmed up a bit and was about 61F at start time. I started off slower than race pace. In the past I've always gone out too fast, so I tried to keep it easy. This felt good. At one point someone was just ahead of me with music playing. I found myself following along then glanced at my watch -whoops! Slow down, it's too soon to speed up. Just before mile 4 the route went onto the boardwalk of the beach. There were nice views of the beach and water with a few sailboats out. We were on the boardwalk for about a mile before heading back to the roads. I kept an easy pace for the first 6 miles and then picked it up over the next 3 miles. I had most of a pack of sports beans spread out between miles 4 and 8 along with 8 ounces of skratch. I took water at each of the water stops.

Around mile ten I started slowing. I'd glance at my watch - oops, slow, pick it up a little. Which I did for awhile until I realized - oops, slowing again. I can see the evidence of this in my pace graph - a series of peaks and valleys. Hmmm, maybe the music would have helped at this point. I don't know.

The course was mostly flat, there was really just one hill through a park that we hit about mile 11.75. I kept my head up and kept moving. My goal was to not walk. Though I slowed, I managed to chomp quite a few people who stopped to walk up the hill. At the top of the hill the course turned out of the park and I found myself walking - What?! It was completely bizarre - I was running, turned the corner and then I wasn't. I've never had this happen before - if I've started walking it's because I've consciously decided I needed a break and couldn't keep going. I'm sure if I could have seen my face at that moment I would have looked confused. I was definitely having a conversation with myself, "what the heck? why are you walking?" No response... I let myself walk to the next telephone pole then got moving again. Just a mile left to the finish.

Somewhere along this last mile my husband was by the side of the road trying to take pictures. So he'd take some, then run up ahead of me, take some more. Then cross the road and run ahead, take some more. Meanwhile I'm cursing in my head, "enough already! leave me alone! I'm tired of pretending I'm smiling!" I'm glad he was there though. He's done a fabulous job supporting my running and I do appreciate it.



I had a bit of a kick left for the last tenth of a mile to the finish. I nearly took out a spectator though. We were running in the breakdown lane (roads open to traffic) which opened up to some parking on the right. Toward the end there were people lining both sides and it got pretty narrow and a woman started backing into the runner's area! I shouted out and she moved, thankfully, because I was. not. stopping.

Official finish time was 2:15:35 which is a PR by 5:43! :jumping1:

I'm super happy with this. I feel that I ran a good race - started out easy and built the pace up. While I did slow some after mile 10, it was nothing like the go out quick and die later of previous races. First half of the race - 1:09:35, second half - 1:06:00.


A huge thank you to @DopeyBadger for making my training plan and educating me to help me achieve this result. I really appreciate it! :thanks:
Just ten weeks of this training plan since my last half and I dropped over five minutes! It works! :worship:
 
After the race we had a family cookout so I got to sit, relax, and eat good food. Got home late and crashed. The next morning when I got up - lightheaded and dizzy. Yikes. Drank water, laid back down for awhile, felt a bit better when I got up. The dizziness persisted for the rest of the day though. Three out of four kids were constantly blowing noses and complaining of headaches. I'm really glad this didn't happen a couple of days earlier! Monday morning I was feeling fine again.

My training plan gave me a whole week off from running! - what to do with myself? Make costumes for MNSSHP! Our trip is fast approaching with so much to get done. As of just after the race we had 3 weeks. Other than our regular activities I need to make costumes, attend a weekend-long immersive adventure as a staff member, and run another half marathon!

So training for the week of 9/19-25 was one 3 mile run at Easy B pace. It went well, but felt like I had taken way more than a week off!
 
Congrats again! I did the easy part, making the plan. You did the much harder part of following it, executing it to near perfection, and then crushing the race! Way to go! :thumbsup2
 
Great job! Negative split?!? So jealous!

Thanks! There's a first time for everything!

Congrats again! I did the easy part, making the plan. You did the much harder part of following it, executing it to near perfection, and then crushing the race! Way to go! :thumbsup2

Thank you again! The race felt great overall.

Great race recap and fantastic race! Congrats on crushing your old PR!!

Thank you - I was thrilled with my result!


Now it's time for my next half - already!
 
A much-delayed training update...


2 weeks until Hartford Half


Date - Day - Scheduled Workout (Intervals within desired pace, +/- 10 sec)

9/26/16 - Mon - 3 miles @ 11:39 (EB)
9/27/16 - Tues - 3 miles @ 11:39 (EB)
9/28/16 - Wed - rest
9/29/16 - Thurs - 1 mile @ WU + 3 mile @ 10:05 (tempo) + 1 mile @ CD
9/30/16 - Fri - 4 miles @ 12:28 (EA) **Blind
10/1/16 - Sat - 6 miles @ 11:39 (EB)
10/2/16 - Sun - rest


So how did it go?

Mon - skipped run. Scheduling issues and just did not get up early enough to make it happen even though it was a short one.

Tues - 2/3 within goal pace. Run was fine, one interval just a second off desired range. 11:50, 11:35, 11:40

Thurs - 3/3 within goal pace. It's kind of silly, but I was apprehensive about this run. I was worried I wouldn't be able to meet my tempo pace. No injuries, illness or anything else that should have caused the worry. The run ended up being fine! 10:07, 10:10, 10:11

**This was my adventure weekend from Friday afternoon until late Sunday night. I was concerned about being able to fit in my Saturday run since I don't get the final schedule of my duties until I arrive on Friday. I switched my Friday and Saturday runs hoping I'd be able to fit in the shorter run while away.

Fri - 5/6 within goal pace. A nice run, one interval just a second too fast. 11:34, 11:28, 11:32, 11:29, 11:39, 11:32

Sat - skipped run. Didn't get to bed until 2am Saturday. Getting up to run at 6am knowing I'd be up until 1am that day, then have another busy day on Sunday just wasn't a good choice. I figured staying healthy was more important than getting that run in.



1 week until Hartford Half


Date - Day - Scheduled Workout (Intervals within desired pace, +/- 10 sec)

9/26/16 - Mon - 4 miles @ 12:28 (EA)
9/27/16 - Tues - 5 miles @ 11:39 (EB)
9/28/16 - Wed - rest
9/29/16 - Thurs - 4 miles @ 12:28 (EA)
9/30/16 - Fri - 3 miles @ 11:39 (EB)
10/1/16 - Sat - Hartford Half Marathon
10/2/16 - Sun - rest


So how did it go?

Mon - 3/4 intervals within goal pace. Since I missed my blind run last week and this was the same pace and distance that was supposed to be I decided to do this run blind. 12:27, 12:34, 12:17, 12:29 Wow - 3/4 within goal pace, and the one I missed was just a second too fast!

Nice easy runs for the rest of the week...

Tues - 5/5 within goal pace. 11:36, 11:36, 11:29, 11:32, 11:33

Thurs - 4/4 within goal pace. 12:23, 12:25, 12:20, 12:18

Fri - 3/3 within goal pace. 11:37, 11:31, 11:31
 
Race day tomorrow! The past few weeks I've been absolutely swamped. Between running, preparing for my adventure weekend, sewing costumes for MNSSHP, and other prep for our Disney trip I've had no time to breathe. But I'm healthy! I'm planning on just seeing what happens tomorrow. I'll go with the same plan as the last half with food, warm-up, start slow and ramp up. Unlike my last half there is some elevation gain on this course, so we'll see what I can do.

We leave for Disney Sunday afternoon, so tomorrow I'll run then finish our packing.

I have had a moment this week to realize that my training plan is officially coming to an end tomorrow. What's next??

I'm running the Glass Slipper Challenge in February, but I'm sure there will be at least a few smaller races before then. I need to take a look at my "maybe" list and pick some out. I do know I'll be running on Thanksgiving Day.

Last weather check and off to bed!
 
Race day tomorrow! The past few weeks I've been absolutely swamped. Between running, preparing for my adventure weekend, sewing costumes for MNSSHP, and other prep for our Disney trip I've had no time to breathe. But I'm healthy! I'm planning on just seeing what happens tomorrow. I'll go with the same plan as the last half with food, warm-up, start slow and ramp up. Unlike my last half there is some elevation gain on this course, so we'll see what I can do.

We leave for Disney Sunday afternoon, so tomorrow I'll run then finish our packing.

I have had a moment this week to realize that my training plan is officially coming to an end tomorrow. What's next??

I'm running the Glass Slipper Challenge in February, but I'm sure there will be at least a few smaller races before then. I need to take a look at my "maybe" list and pick some out. I do know I'll be running on Thanksgiving Day.

Last weather check and off to bed!

Good Luck!
 

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