Race strategy question

[Tracy Whelchel]

This Saturday I am running the Fontana half marathon again (4th time for me).  Last year my time was a 2:27 something.  I am not trying to smash that, but I would like to beat it.  My problem for this race is that I don't know how to properly train for it.  It basically is a downhill course with the ONLY uphill being almost at mile 11 and its a highway overpass that we cross over.  The first 6.5 are the real downhill and I usually go out to fast on this and pay the price in the last three miles when my tank is running on empty.  I don't want to repeat the same mistake but I hate not taking advantage of gravity at the start.....any suggestions?

Sweetiepie

[Sasha Pachev]

When a race is only a couple of days away, 95% of the outcome has already been decided by your preparation, be it good or bad. It is a time to relax . Once the gun goes off, just immerse yourself in the race, let it happen, and happily take whatever it gives you as an indicator of your current fitness. Then look at the time, splits, and overall experience, learn from it, and adjust your training appropriately.

The "run fast while I can" strategy is not necessarily bad. Your body might be prone to developing certain problems as the race goes on regardless of the pace. In that event you want to run as fast as possible before the problems develop, and mentally prepare yourself to deal with them when they arrive.

A common mistake made by optimistic and ambitious runners is thinking that somehow the problems they experienced in earlier races will not happen in this one. If your training, nutrition, sleep, and other activities relevant to your performance have not drastically changed, much more likely than not the next race will be a repeat of the last one. With only two days to go it is too late to do anything to reduce the possibility of the crash. However, you can still gain a significant chunk of time by making plans on what you are going to do to deal with it when it happens.

One thing I would suggest is find a faster friend that would be willing to run with you at least the final miles of the race if not from start to finish. When your pace starts to slow your friend will naturally keep the pace you were going earlier. You can instruct your friend to challenge you to slap his hand every 30 seconds or so without making it too easy. When you are fatigued it is very easy to get angry at the friend and rebel against the idea. Make a promise to yourself that you will humbly obey your friend's instructions and make keeping that promise the utmost focus of the race.

Also drink lots of Powerade/Gatorade if you can stomach it once you start feeling depressed. Low blood sugar causes depression, which is why it is common to have negative thoughts towards the end of a long race. One time I was in the lead of marathon at mile 23 with nobody in sight, and still holding good pace. I was headed for a 5+ minute PR,  $1000 cash prize + a treadmill. All of a sudden I felt an overwhelming urge to lay down and just quit. Knowing the source of the thought as well as the absurdity of the idea quickly brought me to my senses, but this goes to show that odd thoughts can enter your mind even when the race is going very well.

[Michelle Lowry]

I would balance the fast beginning with holding back.  Make sure you use the downhill by going faster than you would if it were flat, but make sure you are not going all out in the first half.  Having a friend come back for you to pace you the last several miles in is a great idea. 

[Tracy Whelchel]

Thank you for both of your responses.  I usually have a ton of friends running this race with me but alas not this year.  So, while I won't have someone to pace me, I am going to use my garmin virtual trainer and see if I can do the same thing.  I have really tried to improve mentally.  I can so relate to sasha's description of the mental battle at the end of a race.  I will make sure I hydrate before and during the race and gu for blood sugar.  I am eager to see if I really am stronger.  I used to walk up all hills and now I run them, that was a huge mental battle that I use to lose but now win.  Perhaps I will discover that I have progressed in the tackling of mental hurdles on Saturday.

I'll let you know when I post my report.