Hey Runner,
It’s REAL close!!!!
I’m proud of you for what you are undertaking.
With just a few days to go, I want to impress on you the
need to take it easy. That’s just as important as any of your
training. Try to eat well and get plenty
of sleep. You run the marathon on the
sleep you get TWO nights before the race, Thursday night, for a Saturday
marathon…as it’s quite normal not to sleep well the night before the race.
Try not to do anything NEW before or during the marathon….NO
NEW CLOTHES…no new SHOES. Use and do
only the things that you HAVE DONE BEFORE….and this includes the night
before. If you don’t normally drink beer
or wine before a long run…then don’t start the night before. Same for what you eat the night before….and
breakfast the morning of.
RUN YOUR RACE on race day.
DON’T try to keep up with someone else…it’s EXTREMELY difficult to effectively
run a marathon with someone else. This
is YOUR race…not your time to keep up with someone else.
DON’T do anything stupid, please. You can gain little or nothing before the
race, but you can lose big if you go into the race tired or injured. EASY on the cross-training. Your job is to REST….so please do that. DON’T go barefoot…even in the house this
week.
TRY NOT TO RUN on Thursday or Friday before the Saturday race. You
need TWO days off before the marathon (or half) so get the few miles you need on
M, T, Wed or Thursday.
Some always complain that the week before the event running
is poor. Don’t worry about it. That’s normal….so shake it off and forget
it. Also, you are likely to have every
type pain and ache ever known on the day before the marathon. That’s normal. While we are on the physiological subject,
prepare for a little let-down after you accomplish this massive goal. As soon as the marathon is over, pick another
goal…it will help with the transition.
BUT….give your body a chance to heal before you start heavy training
again.
Allot ENOUGH TIME for everything on both Friday and Saturday
(or Sat and Sun). On race day get up
early enough to eat and have bathroom time.
Yeah, you need to eat on marathon day.
Get to the expo in plenty of time to get your packet….view the Expo and
get back to the hotel and get your feet up.
LOOK AT WEATHER.COM and try to visualize what you will wear
race day. WHEN PACKING….if in doubt
CARRY IT with you to the race. When
dressing the morning of…usually dressing DOWN is the best advice. Normally it’s warmer than expected. Protecting your hands (cheap disposable
gloves) is imperative. Wear a black
garbage bag to the start line for warmth…then CAREFULLY throw it away before
the gun sounds. An alternative is to
wear a tee shirt you KNOW you are going to throw away….cut the thick material
at the top and the waist at home with scissors …then TEAR IT OFF at the two or
three mile mark….it will make you feel
like Superman!! And of course, pin your
number on your front. Need to carry
Tums, GU or money? Put it in a Ziploc
and stuff it in your waistband.
Again, run your own race.
Don’t go out too fast. Maintain a
pace that you know you can hold for hours.
Listen to your body. Drink before
you are thirsty…and the most important thing of all…..enjoy yourself!!! Remember, you are doing something that about
.001% of people in the world can do, so BE PROUD OF YOURSELF.
I’m proud of you for what you have done!
Good luck and God Speed!
Koach
15 TIPS FOR MARATHON DAY
From Runner’s World
1. DON’T DO ANYTHING NEW. Race day is not the time for new shoes, new
food or drinks, new clothing, or anything else you haven’t done on several
training runs. Stick with a routine that
works for you. “I learned the hard way
that when you try something new on race day, you often end up regretting it,”
says Russ Pate, who has a Ph.D. in exercise physiology and qualified for three
U.S. Marathon Trials in ’72, ’76, and ’80.
“I eventually developed a routine that I followed ritualistically before
all my races.”
2.
EAT FIRST
THING. Too many marathoners skip breakfast on race
day, opting for just a cup of
coffee and/or some sports drink. You
need more than that. “From the time you go to bed until the
start of the race is usually eight to 10 hours,”
Says Ken Sparks, who has a Ph.D. in exercise physiology and ran a personal best 2:28 at age 46. “In that time, your liver glycogen – which is
stored carbohydrate – gets
depleted. If you don’t have a simple,
high-carb breakfast, you’re going
to be in trouble at 20 miles.” Bananas, bagels, or energy bars are good picks.
3. DON’T OVERDRESS.
Marathons often start in the cool of early morning, and it’s easy to overestimate the amount of
clothing you’ll need. As a rule of thumb, it will probably feel 10 or
more degrees warmer once you get going, and
temps will rise as the day goes on. If
you wear too much clothing, you’re carrying
extra weight, and will sweat more than you want, possibly increasing your body temperature and risk of
dehydration. “If you overdress, you
create a microclimate around the skin
that induces sweating,” says Mel Williams, Ph.D.,
an exercise physiologist, author of The
Ergogenic Edge, and veteran marathoner
who expects to run his 30th-straight Marine Corps Marathon on October 30 (2005). “The best clothing allows for some heat loss,
but not so much that you
become uncomfortably cold.”
4. PREVENT CHAFING.
“During a marathon, every moving body part that can chafe will chafe,” says Williams.
And nothing is more irritating and painful than skin rubbed raw.
To prevent this, make sure your shoes, socks, and clothing have no raised seams that will rub
against the skin. Also, use Vaseline, Body Glide, or something
similar in key locations, including your armpits,
nipples, and inner thighs.
5. WEAR SUNSCREEN.
Marathoners sometimes don’t think about the fact that they’re in the sun long enough to get
sunburned. “This is particularly true if
you finish in four or five hours, which
takes you into the high-sun time of day, or
if you run the Boston Marathon, which starts at noon on a course with little shade.
“I used to run with a cap on my head, but then decided that the cap was holding in too much heat,” remembers
Williams. “So one year, I ran without the cap. I got sunburned so badly, it turned into one
of my most painful races. Now I put a nongreasy sunblock on my head, my
shoulders, and my lips.”
6.
PIN YOUR
RACE NUMBER ON YOUR SHORTS. That way you can
fiddle all you want with your
upper-body apparel. If the temperature
rises, you can peel off the long-sleeve
shirt that kept you toasty for the first three miles. If the wind kicks
up, reach for the shirt that’s wrapped around your waist. “When you put
your number on your shorts, you can add or subtract layers as needed to adjust to changing conditions,” says
Greg Crowther, a 2:22 marathoner with a Ph.D.
in physiology and biophysics. “On a hot
day, you could even exchange a sweaty
shirt for a dry one. The easier you can
vary your torso covering, the better.”
7.
GO FOR THE
JOLT. Twenty years ago, researchers thought that
caffeine helped runners burn
more fat, thereby sparing precious glycogen.
That theory has been mostly
disproved, but caffeine does make the marathon feel easier. “I did a
caffeine-endurance study with some researchers at Yale, and we didn’t find any difference in
fat burning,” says Hal Goforth, who has run the
last 28 Boston Marathons in a row and has a Ph.D. in kinesiology and a marathon PR of 2:28. “But the exercisers on caffeine had higher
levels of beta-endorphins and a lower
perceived effort.” So drink your normal
amount of coffee before the
race. Or, if you want to be more
scientific about it, Goforth
suggests taking caffeine tablets 60 to 90 minutes before the marathon at a dose of three
milligrams per pound of your body weight.
8. TOP OFF YOUR TANK. Most marathoners know enough to stay
well hydrated in the days before
their race. It’s tough to superhydrate,
however, because your kidneys have time
to release any excess water you consume.
But in the final minutes
to half hour before the start, you can trick your kidneys by sneaking in a late drink. (Your kidneys will mostly shut down once you
start running hard) “I Carry my
Gatorade to the starting line, and keep sipping it as long as my stomach feels comfortable,” says Williams, who also
eats pretzels before the marathon,
figuring the extra salt will help him retain the fluids he consumes.
9. KEEP YOUR WARMUP SHORT. It makes sense to not warm up much before a marathon. After all, you want to save energy. But you’ll actually run more efficiently if you first loosen up your leg
muscles. “I do a warm up just to the point of a very light sweat,” says Kitty
Consolo, who has a Ph.D. in exercise physiology
and a marathon best of 2:42. “I also use
my warm up to gauge the weather, to
see how I’ll need to adjust my pace to the conditions.”
10.
RUN EVEN PACE. This is
possibly the oldest and most important of marathon strategies. “Both the
laboratory data and experiences of countless marathoners
show that even-pace running is the optimal approach,” says Pate.
In my best marathons, I almost felt that I was running too slow the
first five to 10 miles.” Exercise physiologist Phil Sparling, Ph.D.,
concurs. “You have to run so slow that it feels like you’re holding
yourself back,” says Sparling. Later it feels so good when you’re going
strong and passing people.”
11.
FIX IT
SOONER, NOT LATER. You might notice
that your shoelace is beginning to
come untied. Or you’re starting to chafe
in that one particular spot. Or a pebble has taken up residence in your
left shoe. These things don’t go away on their own. And the sooner you deal with them, the better
you’ll fair over the
distance. “It’s like the old saying, ‘An
ounce of prevention is worth a pound
of cure,’” says Crowther. “Only in the marathon, it’s more like an ounce of cure early is better than a pound of
pain later.”
12.
DRINK EARLY
– AND LATE. When you’re aiming
for a fast marathon time – say a
sub-three-hour – every ounce of fluid you consume helps maintain the blood flow to your skin (for cooling)
and to your heart and muscles. Since running hard slows the absorption of
fluids from your stomach, you need to begin
drinking early to have fluids become available later. That said, Crowther says drinking at the 24-mile mark also helps. “There might not be time to absorb all the water and sugars, but
some can get into your system, and this will help you in that last tough mile.”
(Important note: If you expect to run four
hours or slower, be careful not to overdrink and develop hyponatremia. Drink
when you are thirsty, and stop drinking if your stomach becomes uncomfortable
full of fluids.)
13.
USE SOME
GEL. Sports drinks contain
carbohydrates and other good stuff, but
gels provide a more concentrated source of carbs that can prove especially
helpful in the last half of the marathon.
Williams carries four gel packs,
and takes them at miles 10, 14, 18, and 22.
“I’m trying to get about 60 grams
of carbohydrates per hour,” says Williams.
“That’s about the maximum the body can handle.”
14.
DRAFT OFF
SOMEONE. Hey, it
works for Lance Armstrong. The drafting
effect isn’t as strong in running, but it’s still there. “I always tried to tuck in behind someone in
my marathons, because it’s so much more efficient to follow,” says Sparks. “I’d often pick one of the first women. They’d usually run a strong, even pace.” Just be decent about it and don’t follow too
closely, or better yet, agree to take turns leading so you’re working together
with this person. Alternative: Find a
marathon that offers pace groups, and join the peloton,
just like Lance.
15.
DON’T CHARGE
THE HILLS. The goal in marathon
running is to maximize your efficiency
over 26.2 miles. That’s why drafting
works. And it’s why running hard up the hills doesn’t work. “From an energy-output perspective, you gain more speed by putting your effort into
the flats than the hills,” says Crowther.
“When you’re on the hills,
just relax. Don’t worry about those
people who are passing you. You’ll get them back later.”
Kenneth Williams, @MarathonKoach.
To find all my longer “Tips from @MarathonKoach,” click HERE.
And if you’re interested in stories about running the world’s greatest marathon, check out BOSTONLOG.com!
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