2016 Lakefront Marathon - Final Race Day Strategy
The Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon is a net downhill race.
Elevation wise this is a relatively tame race. The net downhill any many areas is not noticeable while running with the exception of the beginning of the race and mile 23-24.
The race starts at 7:30am in Grafton, WI and ends in Milwaukee, WI. It runs North to South along Lake Michigan. As of the last weather prediction the wind will also be going from North to South (yea tailwind!)
My strategy:
3:45am - Wake up, drink 16 oz water, and shower
4:45am - Leave home (Cottage Grove, WI)
5:00am - Consume honey and peanut butter bagel and one banana. Drink roughly 10oz water. NO MORE WATER UNTIL E-GEL.
6:15am - Arrive in Grafton, WI
6:45am - Head to restroom for the last time
7:00am - Begin dynamic stretching and very easy 1 mile warm-up
7:15am - Consume E-Gel
7:30am - Race Starts
I'll line up next to the 3:15 pace group. My intention is for them to leave me quite quickly. The next fastest pace group is 3:25. If they catch me between mile 1-3 I'll be fine with that. As always, the goal is to start slow and build my own race. I use others as my guide to whether I am going slow enough because I want people of a similar goal time to be racing ahead of me for the first few miles (see ya ghosts!). As the race progresses, I'll slowly pick up the pace. When I reach mile 8, the fatigue level should feel similar to the fatigue of mile 1 of my 18 mile long runs during training. Once I reach mile 8, then it becomes an 18 mile long run with a fast finish at the end. Slowly increasing the pace but keeping it very comfortable until mile 16 or so. Once I'm around mile 19-21 I want to start peaking. If done correctly, these will be my fastest mile splits. Then, it's a matter of holding on for the last 4 miles. I aim to have an exaggerated U-shaped pace chart. Slow in the beginning. Dip down in the middle. Peak toward the 3/4 mark. And then the pace slowly creeps back up at the end. You could ask why not peak at the end? Well because if you're running your fastest splits at the VERY end of the race mile 23, 24, 25, then you very likely could have been running faster all along. But if your pace is starting to slip right at the end, then you really and truly went as fast as possible during the entire race.
I will attempt to run this race blind. However, they have clocks at almost every mile marker and the ones they don't they have people yelling out splits as well as predicted finishing time. My goal will be to start my watch, switch to "clock" mode, and never look at it. I'll turn up the music to drown out the pace yellers, and do my best to avoid looking at any of the clocks. But if I see any splits during the race, oh well. It's neither a positive or a negative. Just keep running my race as best I can and ignore something I can't control.
I downloaded a few trigger songs for this race:
Try Everything - Shakira (G's favorite)
Where is my money? - (G always asks this after going potty, LOL! She doesn't know the song)
Whip - (G loves the music video)
Runaway (U and I) - Galantis (AMAZING RUNNING SONG)
Chains - (Love the beat)
This race is going to be tough. I want it to be tough. I want to go as fast as my body will let me go on race day. This means I'm going "there". That place that is reserved for once a year or once every two years. That delving deep into your bodies capabilities to pull out something special. It isn't going to be easy. And thus I need mental reminders to keep me strong, to keep me pushing on, to keep me focused on the task, to keep me positive and reminding myself I DO want to do this and I WILL crush this. The following is what I'll be thinking of...
-I'll be thinking about the time someone told me I couldn't run a marathon.
-I'll be thinking about the time my coach me I was too slow and shouldn't be on the track team.
-I'll be thinking about how my friends didn't think I could do this. How I was wasting my time. How they thought my running was annoying. How they alienated me because I started running. How I haven't spoken to any of them in years.
-I'll be thinking about when I used to struggle to walk up the stairs at work. Huffing, puffing...
-I'll be thinking about when my doctor told me I needed to turn my life around otherwise I was headed to an early grave.
-I'll be thinking about my first marathon and how much of a struggle that
really was.
-I'll be thinking about this past winter when I ran in -25 degrees.
-I'll be thinking about this past summer when I ran in a T+D of 165.
-I'll be thinking about how I ran in snow, lightning, rain, wind, sun, clouds, sleet, ice, birds (huh?).
-I'll be thinking about how I came up wth the most aggressive 6-day a week, no doubles, max at 2.5 hour training plan I could conceive.
-I'll be thinking about the person who stole my water bottles. And then put them back.
-I'll be thinking about bike steamer girl and our impromptu race. Vroom Vroom...
-I'll be thinking about all of those great training sessions.
-I'll be thinking about all of those awful crash and burn training sessions.
-I'll be thinking about how I get the privilege to run a race. It's a luxury.
-I'll be thinking about my jury trial. The things those people went through on a daily basis. The situations they were in. The lives they live. The deep deep sadness. The eye-opening experience that was.
-I'll be thinking about the injured running folks on here. How they would thankfully trade their "pain" for my "pain" if it meant they got to race.
-I'll be thinking about the amazing accomplishments all of you have done this past year. Massive PRs. New times. New distances. 5Ks, 10Ks, HMs, Ms, Triathlons, Ironman
-I'll be thinking about how you guys will be watching, waiting for splits, cheering me on, even though we barely know each other, you guys still care so much.
-I'll be thinking about how many weekdays I asked my MIL to stay late so I could get a run in, or come on the weekend so I could get a run in. I've got to make all this training worth those favors.
-I'll be thinking about my wife. All she has done for me in our lives, in this training session, every night making dinner, taking care of G, being an absolute rock star 24/7. Putting up with my constant training.
-Lastly and most importantly, I'll be thinking about G. I'll remind myself no matter how race day goes: good, bad, amazing, awful. When I finish the race, she'll run up to me, give me hugs and kisses, and tell me "Congratulations!" She doesn't care how it goes. She's just proud of her dad. That's why I do this. Because one day I can tell G, "Don't ever let anyone tell you, you can't do something. Set your own limits. If you want it, PROVE IT, by doing what is necessary to get it!"
Time to go back in time and remedy that.
