Two weeks from today and the Ottawa Marathon will be over. Good or bad. In fact, by this point it will be hours over, the post-race food and beer long since consumed, the post-race stiffness still present, and the post-race mood...? At this point, who can say?
Today's run, as per the training schedule, was 19 km. The longest run until the marathon itself. According to my calculations and mapmyrun.com, I ran closer to 22 km. Not a big deal and I'm not complaining - at this point, it's okay to be a little over and I'd rather do that than a little under. It was a pretty good run - the weather was sunny, around 11 C, a little windy but not too much so. Three hills, including one long winding one (but they all had an accompanying and very nice downhill). Unfortunately, I didn't go as slow as I should have - this is always and ever a problem - and that highlights my need to use a pace bunny, a pace band, a running partner, something to keep me from burning it all up too fast on race day. It's going to be hard enough to finish at a slower than usual pace, but just about impossible at my ATB or half marathon pace.
Total mid-week mileage is only supposed to be 13 miles, over three days. Since I can't run three days (next week's runs are planned for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) I think I'll bump up both Tuesday and Thursday to be about 6.5 miles. That's about 10.5 km and shouldn't be a problem. It would be good to get the total distance in.
Then about 13 km on the weekend, and two short runs on Monday and Wednesday, and that's it. Gulp. I have an ART appointment scheduled for Wednesday night, a final tune-up before the race, so unless at some point in the next two weeks I get injured, physically it's just a matter of whether I've trained enough and have the endurance.
Do I? Some days I think so, others I'm not so sure. Friday's run was not the greatest - I did just under 8.5 km at a decent pace, but felt kind of bloated and crampy and not at my best. The idea of doing five times that distance was laughable. But then other days I've had good runs - last weekend I did 32 km - and I figure with proper pacing and sufficient water and carbs, it's going to be okay. It's an intimidating distance, there is (at least in my mind) this "marathon mystique", and so I'm both nervous and excited.
The biggest unknown, as always, is the weather. Last year it was very hot on that day - 18 C at 7:00 a.m., going up to a high of 24 C - and I just dread that. Duh. It's not like you can train for that weather when the temperatures here have been quite nice for the past couple of weeks. Okay - theoretically I could wear tights and two shirts and gloves and train on the indoor track. Or wear all those clothes and train outside. But this isn't the Olympics, there's no need to go overboard. I have made a point of wearing long-sleeved shirts, but switched to shorts when the temperature last week went up to 19 C.
In any event, the marathon starts at 7:00 a.m., so the sun will be fully up but not high in the sky, and that makes a difference. I am used to running early in the morning so my body should like that. Concentrate on the positives...
As well, I have to keep reminding myself that Ottawa is not my "A" race this year. My "A" race is Scotiabank, and that's not until September. Lots of time to work on any issues encountered in Ottawa, and lots of opportunities to train in the summer humidity. Ottawa is a "let's get the experience" marathon. Of course, I would love to finish under 4:00 and I'm going to start with a 3:45 pace. But if I don't finish in that time, I don't. It's not the end of the world. Just finishing is enough of an achievement.
Those are all things that I know intellectually. Emotionally is another story, of course...
Today's run, as per the training schedule, was 19 km. The longest run until the marathon itself. According to my calculations and mapmyrun.com, I ran closer to 22 km. Not a big deal and I'm not complaining - at this point, it's okay to be a little over and I'd rather do that than a little under. It was a pretty good run - the weather was sunny, around 11 C, a little windy but not too much so. Three hills, including one long winding one (but they all had an accompanying and very nice downhill). Unfortunately, I didn't go as slow as I should have - this is always and ever a problem - and that highlights my need to use a pace bunny, a pace band, a running partner, something to keep me from burning it all up too fast on race day. It's going to be hard enough to finish at a slower than usual pace, but just about impossible at my ATB or half marathon pace.
Total mid-week mileage is only supposed to be 13 miles, over three days. Since I can't run three days (next week's runs are planned for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) I think I'll bump up both Tuesday and Thursday to be about 6.5 miles. That's about 10.5 km and shouldn't be a problem. It would be good to get the total distance in.
Then about 13 km on the weekend, and two short runs on Monday and Wednesday, and that's it. Gulp. I have an ART appointment scheduled for Wednesday night, a final tune-up before the race, so unless at some point in the next two weeks I get injured, physically it's just a matter of whether I've trained enough and have the endurance.
Do I? Some days I think so, others I'm not so sure. Friday's run was not the greatest - I did just under 8.5 km at a decent pace, but felt kind of bloated and crampy and not at my best. The idea of doing five times that distance was laughable. But then other days I've had good runs - last weekend I did 32 km - and I figure with proper pacing and sufficient water and carbs, it's going to be okay. It's an intimidating distance, there is (at least in my mind) this "marathon mystique", and so I'm both nervous and excited.
The biggest unknown, as always, is the weather. Last year it was very hot on that day - 18 C at 7:00 a.m., going up to a high of 24 C - and I just dread that. Duh. It's not like you can train for that weather when the temperatures here have been quite nice for the past couple of weeks. Okay - theoretically I could wear tights and two shirts and gloves and train on the indoor track. Or wear all those clothes and train outside. But this isn't the Olympics, there's no need to go overboard. I have made a point of wearing long-sleeved shirts, but switched to shorts when the temperature last week went up to 19 C.
In any event, the marathon starts at 7:00 a.m., so the sun will be fully up but not high in the sky, and that makes a difference. I am used to running early in the morning so my body should like that. Concentrate on the positives...
As well, I have to keep reminding myself that Ottawa is not my "A" race this year. My "A" race is Scotiabank, and that's not until September. Lots of time to work on any issues encountered in Ottawa, and lots of opportunities to train in the summer humidity. Ottawa is a "let's get the experience" marathon. Of course, I would love to finish under 4:00 and I'm going to start with a 3:45 pace. But if I don't finish in that time, I don't. It's not the end of the world. Just finishing is enough of an achievement.
Those are all things that I know intellectually. Emotionally is another story, of course...
posted by Jogger Barbie | 5:48 PM
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