Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Diamond Valley Plan

Well, here we are. The Diamond Valley Lake Marathon is staring me in the face. I've got 26.2 miles standing in between me and marathon glory.

I have all the confidence in the world that I will complete this race. I've run three marathons and have survived to tell the tale after each one. Whether or not I finish with a good time remains to be seen but I am hopeful of finishing with a time I can be proud of. Will it be a PR? Suppose we'll have to wait and see on that one, but I do have a bit of a strategy.

It's the opposite of my Surf City plan. For Surf City, I wanted to test myself and see if I could hold a strong pace for the duration of the race. At the midway point, I was at 2:03, but I started to fade around Mile 16 or 17... well, fade is a strong word. I started to slow down a bit by that point and by Mile 20, 21 I found the going difficult. I finished in 4:23, a time I'm happy with. However, I left a lot of room for improvement having run the final 13 miles in roughly 2:20.

My goal will be somewhat the opposite. I'm going to start off with an easy pace. Now, not easy as in 12-minutes-per-mile easy, but easy as in as-close-to-10-without-going-under pace.

I want to try and push in the final miles. I want to have enough left in the tank - both physically and mentally - to attempt a push in the final miles. How many miles left will I try and make a push for it? It won't be before Mile 20, but I want to have energy left in Mile 20 so I can then decide when to go for it. I don't want to reach Mile 20 feeling worn out.

I'm going to ask a lot from my body, as I have in the other three marathons. But this time, I'm also going to try and stay mentally sharp. I know I wasn't mentally sharp in Surf City in February and the other two marathons, well, I was just learning what it takes to be mentally sharp. I fear, though, that I won't be able to really be able to deal with the marathon's mental monsters until I have a few more under my belt.

Still, this is another proving ground for me. This race will come down to me being mentally sound enough to pull out a strong effort in the home stretch. The longer I go feeling strong, sane and happy, the better off I'll be.

5 comments:

Kerrie said...

Good plan! I'm excited to hear how it goes!

tahoegirl said...

So excited for you for Saturday! I'll be running 14 with ya in spirit.

Jen Feeny said...

Starting out conservative always seems to pay off, good luck LB!!! I am so excited and will be just waiting for that FB update!!!!!!

Angelina said...

Very good plan, I am anxious to hear how it goes.

I did this in LA 2010, I was very proud of the fact that I felt strong enough to hold a 9:30-10:00 pace, miles 23-26. It's a new kind of accomplishment.

Willoughby said...

Good luck!