Friday, October 7, 2011

Join the Panic Party....

First, I want to apologize in advance to the lovely woman that agreed to run with me. I’m a crazy person. I can’t help it. The crazy cannot be contained. I’m sorry.

Super Duper Extra Special Lofty Goal: 2:15


  • It’s not entirely outside of the realm of possibilities. The Jesse at Journey Thru Life did it just last week, and we seem to be pretty similar paces.


  • That’s a 10:18 avg pace. That’s definitely a steep goal for me, looking at my training paces. HOWEVER. I seem to always finish long runs with a giant kick. I mean, like 1-2 min per mile faster for the last few miles. Obviously I’m not running my long runs to my fullest potential.


  • IF I pace smart (haha), and everything falls into place, and the stars and planets all align *just so*, this is a time I wouldn’t be sad to see.

Reasonable Goal That Would Definitely Please Me: 2:20



  • Remember, back in May when this was my goal pace, and I completely sucked at pacing myself AND choked AND it was hot AND AND AND? 2:20 seems pretty doable now, but really.


  • 10:41 avg pace. Not super scary.


  • I’ve kept my long runs at slow, easy pace on purpose. My long, easy pace always ends with me kicking it up the last few miles, because I’m ready to be done. But, my long run paces have gone from 11:44, to 11:33, to 11:16. That last 11 miler, went like this…. 5 miles @ 11:49, 3 miles @ 11:20, 3 miles @ 10:00. (Of note, that last 3 miles is faster than my 5K PR)

Don’t Die Goal: 2:30


  • To be honest, I’m not even printing out a pace band for this goal, THAT’S how confident I am. Take THAT, taper nerves.


  • Both my race buddy and I have never broken 2:30, so it would be a PR for both of us.


  • 11:27 pace. I’m confident we will BOTH kill that.

Other quirks that may force my race buddy to ditch me at mile 2



  • I think I'm going to aim for a comfortable 4:1 run/walk for the first several miles. It takes me a few miles to warm up, and I train ALL of my long runs as a run/walk.


  • Probably somewhere around mile 6, I'll switch this up to a 4:30/:30 ratio. That's what has worked for me in the past.


  • And then, maybe, kick it up more around mile 11. We'll see.


  • It's forecast to be EFFING HOT. I hate the hot. And the sun. That damn sun wrecks my life. Hopefully we'll run fast enough we really beat the heat. It could happen.


  • I think I'll carry my handheld, just in case. I hate feeling like I'm thirsty. Absolutely hate it. I know there are a billion water stops on the course, but I don't care.


  • I also might walk at water stops. I like them.


  • The fueling plan that has worked for me on long runs: GU at 45 minutes, margarita shot blocks at 1:15, and another GU at 1:45. I know that seems like a lot to a lot of people, but hello, a LOT of people are way faster than me. Plus, I sweat like no other in the sun, and I am a damn salty sweater-er. Those margarita blocks work wonders for me.


  • I will try not to slow us down by peeing. But be warned, I have the bladder of a teeny, little bitty turtle. Sorry, again, in advance.


  • I cannot talk while I run. It's just not possible, I just am not smart enough or something. I can't make my brain talk at the same time as I'm making my legs move fast(ish). You're welcome to talk to me, but please don't be offended if I don't answer you with more than one syllable.


  • Except for occassionally when I decide that I've gotten my second wind and want to run fast AND talk. I apologize if that happens, because it's almost manic and out of my control. I just assume that's when my brain stops working.


Okay. I think that's all. Please don't hate me. Or direct me off course so you can run in peace.

Good luck this weekend, racers!

10 comments:

  1. Can't wait to read all about it. Remember race day excitement cuts time off your average pace too, unless you are at Disneyland:)

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  2. Good luck this weekend! You are going to ROCK it!

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  3. GREAT GOALS :)

    I think you are going to KILL IT tomorrow! I'll be stalking you on Twitter to find out how it goes :)

    PS - I totally did speed work the last half of the race. If you have the energy the last 3-5 miles then I highly suggest it. Run fast for 0.10 then slow it back down and repeat as often as possible. You could treat your run/walk 4:1 as speed work too maybe after the first few miles. Just ideas I wanted to share :)

    PSS - I fuel a lot too. I'd always rather have too much then not enough. I have bonked too many times from not fueling enough.

    GOOD LUCK!!!

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  4. You're going to do AWESOME. Tell me more about margarita shot blocks. Never heard of such a thing!!

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  5. I like your plan! I'll be looking for you guys at the start in case you want another whiner with you. A non-trained one at that.

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  6. Just have fun. If you believe you are going to run a 2:15 you will. I know you can!

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  7. Ready for my one piece of advice? Wear your sunglasses! Don't leave them on top of your head! ;)

    I wish I could be rad like you. My BIG race goal is to some day break 2:30, and you can do it with no problem. I wonder if a pace band would stress me. I might pick one up if they have them at the expo tomorrow. My goal? Run mile 3 in less than 30 minutes. I WILL finish Portland faster than Team Jam finished Disneyland!

    And I promise to not psycho text you while we are both running our respective half marathons - but I might text you later in the day to see how it went! Go kick some goatse. I mean ass. Kick some ass!!!

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  8. All the best to you!
    maybe I will see you somewhere along the way

    what forecast are you looking at?
    I just checked
    6 am: 60F
    9 am: 63F
    gets to 73 at noon and we will be done by then

    that is not hot...that is pretty good to me. I'll take that.

    Good luck to you!

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  9. first, i always train, and almost always race, with an interval. makes it all WAY more doable. and second, as long as the weather is on our side and we stay focused we will crush that race.
    we are going to KILL it. after my nervous moment at the expo where i wondered for a moment what the hell i was doing there, and if i could even run 1 measly mile, i realized i've got this in the bag. if you believe it, it will happen. so, time to believe and tell the taper monster to shut it. :-)

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  10. You are ridiculous! In a good way, you crack me up.

    I think 2:20 is very doable for you. You are getting faster - I don't think you're going to need that interval warm up soon.

    I am contemplating a pre-race warm up for my half on 10/23 - seems to work pretty well for 5K/10K. Why not try with a half.

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