Sitting here this evening looking over my Garmin Connect data & thinking about my race day marathon plan. So I thought what better way to think about it by putting it to paper. So here goes...
I signed up for the Rock-n-Roll USA Marathon in DC for a few reasons. First is because my step-daughter lives in Arlington, VA & its always good to go visit. Second, free room at her apartment. Third, something to keep me motivated during the cold winter months. Fourth, as I found out later, my step-daughter was signing up to do her 1st half marathon so my wife gets to be there for that also!!
Now I entered this race with 4 marathons under my belt, 2 of them during an Ironman, with a PR of 4:18:40. And a new goal of a PR of 3:45:00. So the Monday after Thanksgiving was the start of my 16 week training plan. After a couple of weeks & multiple speed workouts, I changed my goal down to 3:30. By the start of February, I started doubting the 3:30 goal. As the length of my runs grew, I doubted that I could hold an 8 minute mile every mile for 26.2 miles. My times for my longer speed runs were just a little off of that time. February was a month full of negative thoughts (I was extremely glad it was only 28 days long!) The last 2 weeks, my attitude has changed. I knew I had to get serious about my race day plan. So I started looking back at my data, checking pace & heart rate. Then I decided to changed my plan from a pace plan to a heart rate plan. I think this will be my best plan based on not knowing the course. From the elevation chart, the course looks to climb from mile 4 to mile 7. If I try to keep my pace correct for those 3 miles, I might just red line too early in the race.
Now for my plan - 3:45 is the goal, 3:30 is wishful thinking, & 3:59:59 is a must! To achieve this, I will keep my heart rate between 145 & 150 for the 1st 13.1 miles. Then for the next 10 miles, heart rate will be between 150 & 155. The last 5K is whatever it takes!
Based off my data, I should be able to keep around an 8:30 pace for the 1st half, then closer to 8:00 pace for the next 10 miles. The last 5K, the sky is the limit.
Now for the nutrition side of this, which is usually the forgotten element in endurance races. I have trained during my long runs with water & GU gels. Taking 2-4oz of water every mile & 1 gel every 4 miles for the 1st half & then 1 gel every 3 miles for the last half. That would be a gel at mile 4, 8, 12, 15, 18, 21, & 24 for a total of 700-800 calories. If I change that to 1 gel every 3 miles, it would add 1 more to the total for 800-900 calories. This seems to be a better plan as I've been told I needed about 1000 calories total for a marathon.
So there it is, my pacing, heart rate, & nutritional plan for the USA Marathon on March 16th. I'll be posting sometime after the race either here, or on Twitter (@gregreasoner), or on Facebook. All 3 sometime, but if you really want to know how I did, check my Twitter 1st. Don't wish my luck, as I've put in the work this winter. But instead, I need mental strength to get this done. When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
No comments:
Post a Comment