Sunday, March 10, 2019

Current Status...

For the first time in a long time I finished my long run this morning and thought "I can probably get through London ok". The best thing about running in the London Marathon next month (apart from it being my 4th Marathon Major, and apart from the fact that I'll be running in a new country (which I love doing), and apart from the relative lack of humidity in London compared to Florida), is the very generous course time limit of eight hours.

This morning's run started a lot later than normal for me. Not only because the cruelty of Daylight Savings Time robbed me of an hour of precious sleep, but also because I checked the humidity levels at 4am (when I normally get up to get ready for my run) and realized how much Mother Nature seeks a B+ in this area (i.e. humidity in the high 80s). Since the humidity levels were going to fall during the day I decided to sleep in a little more... and boy did it pay off. Not only was I better rested for this morning's run, the weather was awesome and I got through 14 miles!

I relieved myself of the pressure of hoping for a marathon PR a long time ago, especially with the way training has been going, but I still want to have a better finish time than my last few marathons. And while that's still possible (if I'm to believe my VDOT O2 Calculator app)...
...there's also comfort in knowing that I won't have an unmanageable course time limit to contend with.

Plus, it helps that Garmin boosts my self-confidence with occasional race predictor and "Current Status" updates...

Despite my (current) productive training status, I've only stuck to my training plan about 84% because of various runs or cross training activities I've missed. I've also had to make revisions to the plan to remove the emphasis on speed work (which to be fair was not really working to improve my speed anyway) and focus more on endurance...
(It's going to be above 90% by the end of training 😉)

The other aspects of the London trip are slowly coming together as well. Airfare and accommodations are confirmed and there is some semblance of a "plan" for a few things to do while I'm there. My twin sister is planning to come too which will be great because she's been to London a lot more than I have. I told her she isn't allowed to get annoyed when my pre-marathon anxiety turns into pre-marathon moodiness (which is a lot worse than my "this is just my personality" moodiness), to which she sent me a very non-committal straight faced emoji 😐. So we'll see how that goes I guess. 

I'm not excited about the trip yet, but I'm hoping I will be. The more things fall into place training-wise, and the closer I get to my trip dates, the more I hope I'll be looking forward to everything about the racecation. It's the LONDON MARATHON after all! Only 7 more weeks to go before the big day!

How often do your deviate from your training plan?

Do you use race predictor apps/calculators?

Do you get pre-race moodiness too? What do you do to calm your nerves before a big race?

1 comment:

  1. Oh gosh you will love London! It's such a coveted race and those who have run it just rave about how amazing the course support is! So you will definitely get through and yes thankfully the course time limit is generous! I hope you can start to feel some excitement soon about the trip!

    I absolutely NEVER believe my garmin race predictor unless I just need a good laugh :D

    I have deviated from my plans, but now I try not to - I believe all types of runs are on the plan for a reason and I work with a trainer who knows my cross-training is also important to me. Then I also train with two running groups and have a husband who runs so that all helps! That's not so say that you HAVE to follow the training plan. it's a guideline. 85 - 90% following is good in my book!

    I get nervous before big races. If I'm traveling I try to do not so much before the race and leave doing touristy things for after. Not everyone has the luxury of taking loads of days off but as long as I'm not on my feet for too long, then I'm ok. Calming my nerves before the race is tricky - I just try to prep my stuff, read, maybe take a bath at the hotel, have a stiff drink hahaha!

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