Well as I thought about it and as most of you know I'm pretty simple about most things and not afraid to voice my opinion, well my advice was running is hard. Like anything you have to work at it very hard to be successful and unfortunately sometimes no matter how hard you work it's disappointing. But... when things go well and you are successful the feeling from that outweighs how you feel when it doesn't go well.
The other thing is that no matter how hard you work there is always someone better, maybe not that day but they are out there so you can't worry about that, you just worry about you and the work you're doing and that will take care of it.
It's also hard in the sense that if you want to be good at it you have to work hard before during and after and no matter how good of shape you get into its hard, if you give 100%.that will pay off
Over the years I've noticed some get to thinking that if they work hard their race will be easier, well that is somewhat true if you want to run the same times that you have run, if you want to improve and you've worked harder than your previous training periods then you should run faster but it still will be hard. 100% is 100%, the reward is running faster.
Since many of you are running big races comeing up here is some good info from a previous blog posting that I think will be helpful including building a litttle Chuckie.
So with so many of you running soon I want to go over a couple important things. Now that you have spent several months training for your event it seems like a waste to ruin it now by doing something silly. What do I mean by something silly, oh like wearing something new that you haven't tested out in training, eating something during (or right before) the event that you haven't tried in training. Not sticking to your race plan and having feelings of grandeurs. (this is a big one) Now you say heck I wouldn't do any of that stuff but it seems to me that the week of the race a certain level of insanity seems to set in and normal level headed people do some really silly stuff. I will admit that I have fallen victim to all that I listed so I know of what I speak.
So let's take the big three separately:
Wearing something new - What I mean by this is don't try some new stuff this week, meaning new shoes or clothing. You might get away with it but you might not, so it's not worth the risk. If you're going to do new shoes make sure at least they are the model that you have been wearing. I ruined a perfectly good Seattle Marathon by doing this, getting some very nice blisters in the process.
You'll be tempted at the race expos to buy new stuff for your race so you'll be the best looking person on the course but again unless you've worn it before not worth the risk. We had a group member once ruin a perfectly good Disney Marathon by wearing some new shorts he got at the expo and wearing them and in the process loosing some blood and not finishing, he could have used some serious body glide.
Eating something new - Meaning don't try new foods or supplements before the race, again those abound at the expos but unless you've tried it in training don't risk it. I "once" found out that Bee Pollen is a good laxative and ruined a perfectly good marathon.
Not sticking to your race plan (getting feelings of grandeur) - Now this is probably the biggest one. I don't know what happens on race day but like I said something happens to normally level headed people, again here I know what I speak of from past experience. As you start your race it should feel very easy. Its supposed to, it doesn't mean you're in better shape than you thought and all of a sudden you're a contender for the race victory. It means be cautious and enjoy it while it last as it will get tougher as the miles go by and if by chance you're still feeling good into the last quarter of your race then let er rip, you've ran a good race and had a good plan.
If you start out a little faster than you want then slow it down and get back on your pace. The earlier the better. It's easy to get out a little fast because you're excited and your adrenaline is pumping so you'll feel very good early. Don't make the mistake of believing that you're in much better shape than your training has told you, you're probably right, again if you feel good going into the last quarter of your race then go. It's funny how many people end up doing this.
On another note if you're not feeling good early, as long as you're on the pace you should be you'll probably work out of it as you warm up. My best marathons were ones where I felt I wasn't going to be able to finish in the first few miles.
I know you all are say I won't do any of this stuff but you know what I bet 1/3 of you will. Hey we have already had people fall victim to this this year. So try to stay sane.
Ok by request I'm going to go over building my pre race Chuckie. I know sounds kind of scary but it's not and it's a good idea so there.
What I mean by building a little Chuckie is making sure that I have all of my gear that I'm going to need come race time. So generally the day before, not the night before as you might need to get something and it might be to late to get it.
So I go to my bed (I know you're thinking where the hell is he going with this. ) I start with Chuckies head. If I'm going to wear a hat I lay that down first, maybe some sun glasses. Next I lay down the top (right below Chuckies head) I'm going to run in making sure to put on the number, you would be surprised at how often you don't have enough pins. Below that I put my shorts and any thing else I might wear. Below that my socks, then shoes and timing chip if needed and there you have it a little Chuckie. Now if you decide to do this and you call your layout a little Chuckie, now that is a little scary ;)
One more thing be careful with your prerace activities I know you're going to different lands and they are full of adventure but save that for after your race, make sure that you rest up and stay off your feet, the day before don't walk five miles taking in the sites. Remember you've invested a lot of time in preparing for this and being a tourist can wait until the day ofter.
Have a great race.
