My DOs and DON'Ts for the Half Marathon, and a Pre-Race Reflection

Tomorrow I'll run my third half marathon event and I'm excited.

GAME PLAN:

Take it easy(-ish) for the first 5-7km, increase speed around 10km, push a bit more at 16km, kill it 18km-finish.

And of course, fuel and hydrate properly before, during and after.

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH...

DON'T focus on the absurdity of the road race as a concept, or  that we're just a bunch of weirdos running on the street and that I don't know why I'm doing this in the first place

DO focus on why I am doing this in the first place. (Refer to other posts.)

DO focus on how it's always possible to improve. Even if I HAVE hit a plateau, I can change this with a tweak in training. Tis a process.

DO remind myself that I am in the process of connecting things in my life. Exciting things are coming and running is one of those things leading to a creative connection.

DO enjoy the new route!

DO have faith in the training I've done.

DON'T worry that my digestion won't hold up. It will and if it doesn't I will deal with it.

DO think about what I can write about in my post-race report. :)

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Training Reflection:

I'm hoping to beat 1:55 (my PB) tomorrow and I really think I can do it. If I get closer to 1:50, I'll be ecstatic! Given my training (i.e. pace and types of work-outs), I can't quite see how such a finish time will happen. That said, I'm very intrigued to see how my approach to training over the past several months will affect my race day performance. If I end up slower than 2:01 (my time in the San Diego 1/2), then I'll re-assess my training. I'm using this half marathon as a tool in my training for the full marathon in the fall. In a similar way, I'm going to use May 18th as a date to re-group and re-assess how to proceed with my career path. On that date, I will hear back from Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy MSc programs.

One of the things I love most about running and training is seeing how decisions made during the training process can affect my performance when the stakes are highest (i.e. race day). Though there are general guidelines and techniques that bring about a certain type of result, ultimately, the process is informed by, and dependant upon, the individual. Long runs are a necessary part of marathon training, but I really do believe that the other exercises vary in efficacy. What works for one athlete may not be so useful for another athlete. The effectiveness of training activities depends on if they are right for the athlete at that time. Training methods are subjective. So true of life. Sigh.

I'm curious to see how my decision to focus on shorter distances, as well as a bit more strength work over the past several months will affect my half marathon speed tomorrow. My heart wasn't in training this season as much as it was a year ago, but I have faith that I was doing good work regardless. I was just being cautious. The actual course of the race is one I haven't completed before, so that is also something to consider when reflecting on my performance. The course of the San Diego run was hilly. The weather was also quite warm, I had just come back from a month of not running due to injury and nutrient deficiency, had peed myself and had just gotten my period on the run. No excuses though. That was my time. There will always be some way of qualifying. For example, for my first half, I was a few days into my period, had a potluck the night before, drank a bit too much wine (and water), and didn't sleep much/well. And yet, I was super speedy that race!

On that note, I'm ready for tomorrow! Check out the really nice tech shirt for the Toronto Marathon. I especially like that it says "Toronto" along the side. :)  I might not wear it for the race though.

Bring on the 21.1km!

Toronto Half Marathon Route

With about one week to go before the GoodLife Fitness Toronto race, here is the course of the half marathon I will be running May 6th. I had forgotten just how far a half marathon is! I should probably stop saying it's "just" a half marathon...

I will use this race as part of my training for the full marathon in October. I am hopeful the run will go swiftly next week, but I will not be surprised if I don't run my fastest. That said, of course I'm going to give it my all!

Beingwell Magazine Article

I meant to post this sooner, but have been very busy the past few weeks.

In October, the editor of beingwell magazine interviewed me for an article on social media and health. In the article, I talk about how I've used this blog and twitter while training for the marathon.

Progress

It's confirmed:  I'll be running the GoodLife Toronto 1/2 Marathon in May. I've paid my entry fee, so it's set now! 

Short(ish)-Term Running Goal: Speedwork (for the 1/2 in May)

Long(ish)-Term Running Goal: Speedier long distance ability (for the full in October - which I haven't registered for yet)

Looking forward to 2012

I did not run today because my knee has been achy, my leg muscles are sore, and I feel like I might be coming down with a cold. I start a new job Tuesday (!!) and definitely don't want to be sick my first week there. I think I'll be feeling better tomorrow.

For me, 2011 will be remembered as the year I grew a lot as a runner.  Though I started running in 2009, and completed a half marathon in 2010, in 2011 I think I started to feel more like a runner. I felt more connected to other runners, and I think this is very much thanks to TNT and Twitter.  (I have mad Twitter love, remember?)

While I am hoping to run Personal Bests (PB) -- or Personal Records (PR) for a half marathon in May, and a full in October, I anticipate 2012 will be a year dominated by career-related changes. I start a new job tomorrow at a mental health NGO where I've been volunteering for over four years. I'm super excited about this job! In fact, I almost can't believe it's really mine.  I've also applied to several professional programs in the health sector, so by mid-May, I will (hopefully) have heard back from all programs, and will decide if I will be going back to school to pursue a new career path. (My background is in humanities and film studies.) 

Some of my running accomplishments of 2011:  I joined Team in Training, raised nearly $4000 for the LLSC, trained with great coaches, met incredible people, trained very hard -- harder than I've ever trained before, got injured, got treatment, got a free trip to San Diego with a great group (TNT), ran the half marathon there, became a non-fundraising TNT mentor, and ran my first full marathon.  According to what I recorded on dailymile, I ran approximately 1432.6km (890.176mi) in 2011. This distance is not including cross-training! Over that distance, I covered a lot of ground physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

December Training

I have been running regularly, but not very far. I haven't been training very intensely the past month, but I'm okay with that.  I've still got time before the half marathon in May, and the full in October.  I'm trying to be careful right now and ease into training.

My left knee and lower right side of my back (SI and/or T-L spine tightness?), but I think I'm taking care to not overdo it. I just need to pay attention to my body.

I asked for Spirit of the Marathon DVD for Christmas and thanks to my former marathon runner and cyclist extraordinaire uncle who wanted to watch it, I popped the DVD in after Christmas dinner. I love this documentary (and I'm not a big doc fan)!  Even the trailer is inspiring:

How did I do it last year?

It was -10C this morning when I checked the weather forecast, and I thought, "Ooh, too cold. I'll wait until it warms up to -1C this afternoon." I've told myself that running in -5C or warmer is what I'll do. Maybe I'm just building up to running in the cold, but anything colder than -2 is really discouraging - and I'm not even running far these days!! I recall running 11-16km regularly (i.e. a few times a week) in March 2011...

LLSC's Team in Training, Group Training Session (GTS) March 13, 2011

Actually, now that I think about it, I spent a lot of time running on the track at the U of T Athletic Centre. I blame those 6-12K runs on a track for most of my hip/knee injury... Well, I blame me for not thinking that running in a circle for an hour could do some damage.

I think now that I'll be working down the street from the U of T Athletic Centre, I might get a membership there so that I can go to the gym/track (for speedwork and cross-training -- oh, how I miss the rowing machine!) immediately before and/or after work. I like this idea even more when I think about potentially missing driving during rush hour.