It's amazing how fast your body and mind adapt to distance. Five weeks ago, I did my first long run in preparation for this marathon and it was 16km. While I didn't really suffer too badly, it sure felt like a substantial effort. I remember thinking afterward: that was 16, can I really do 42?
Yesterday I did 16km at race pace - 5:40 per km - and it felt like a walk in the park. I actually did most of it well under race pace, but cranked up the last 2.5 km because I was feeling so good. It was a little chilly and there was a vicious, vicious headwind but it didn't matter. After doing 32km the week before, I knew that 16km was going to be nearly the physical or mental effort. And it wasn't.
And so that's pretty much it until race day. My plan calls for some shorter efforts this week and a little tempo work just to prime the pump but all the hard work is done until race day. Now, it's all about physical recovery and mental preparation.
My wife asked me last night if I was looking forward to the race. It's a tough question to answer. I'm looking forward to being able to say I've completed a marathon. I always enjoy the excitement of race day and the energy you get from running with a large crowd. But part of me knows that at some point next Sunday I'm really going to be suffering - at some point I'm going to want to quit, not just the marathon but running in general. It happened during the last few kms of Around the Bay and I'm sure it's going to happen next Sunday. It's hard to look forward to that.
Good luck! I think that while it will be colder than you'd like that is a better option than it being too hot. I did my first full four weeks ago and by the end I was wilting in the heat and humidity. I may come out for the half.
Posted by: Marky Mark | October 27, 2008 at 03:55 PM