One week To Go!
With the final week on the horizon here are some pointers on what to do:
1) Do stay away from strenuous exercise - weights, basketball, mountain biking etc.
2) Do stay off your feet as much as possible – avoid shopping or walking for hours.
3) Do begin fuel loading on Thursday for the half marathon
4) Do eat whatever you are used to. If you have never eaten bran muffins the morning of the race then don’t try on Sunday even if they are free.
5) Do go over the course in your car and take note of the tangents that you can run to shave off valuable seconds/minutes.
6) Do clip you nails one week before.
7) Do think a little about the race but not too much. It is okay to visualize running the race a few times during the week. But stay relaxed. Just do what task is needed to be done each day before hand and avoid thinking about future events; like a check list.
8) Do see motivational, relaxing and funny movies.
9) Do buy a throw away emergency poncho ($2) to wear if it is raining or cold while you are waiting for the start of the race.
10) Do calculate your splits and memorize them. Most half marathoners run their best races with even splits but it is okay to reach the halfway mark a minute or two faster.
Setting the right pace
I wanted to expand on point number 10 because it is one of the most critical things to focus on during the race. If you go out too fast it is extremely difficult at the end of the race to maintain your goal pace. After a couple weeks of tapering and a few days or carbo-loading you are going to feel outstanding and tempted to go out faster. But that is what proper training is about. You should feel great at the beginning because you are super fit and your fatigue level has dropped off. Save that extra energy for the final third of the race when you will need it the most. That is the value of good pacing.
How do you keep the right pace? At this point you should have a good idea of how fast you can race. You should calculate in advance the pace that you want to run. Along the course there will be markers every mile and at 5km.
Start out by making a list of the cumulative time at each point along the course and write it down. The best thing to do is memorize your splits but as the race goes on you may have trouble remembering your pace. The next best option is to write down you time on a strip of plastic paper that will go around your wrist. You can also write your splits on your race number but write them upside down so you can see them while you are running.
As far as pacing goes, I would recommend that you run about 1 minute to 2 minutes faster at the half way point than your goal pace if you want to take a risk. You can always pick-up the pace in the last quarter of the race if you are feeling great. If you are more cautious just run exactly even all the way and if you are feeling good in the last 5km then pick it up. Good sense and knowing yourself, and your pace, will get you to the finish line perfectly on time