Green Bay and Goals

The first week of the taper was really tough for me, I constantly wondered if I'd be ready to take on another marathon.  Physically, I had a few aches and pains that were slow to subside.  My heart rate accelerated with slight inclines.  My last bad run was Atalanta on Sunday.

Wednesday was my first full day in Green Bay.  My sister was overwhelmed with preparing for the final week of her undergraduate career, so I spent my time making sure I disappeared.  I began my day after a wonderful ten hour sleep.  Walking outside of her apartment and into the sunshine, I was surprised that it was almost 70F already.  I ran along the crushed limestone path that I ran as a beginner runner, my freshman year of college.  Memories flooded back.  I fell in love with running all over again.  The first two miles felt effortless, but when I turned around after that, I was dizzy with dehydration and not used to the heat.  A wave of nausea crashed over me and instead of stopping to walk as I might have on other warm days, I decided to slow a little bit and let myself recover.  Walking was giving up.  The final mile was a bit windier and I cooled off. 

 

I thought back to that runner I was ten years ago, trotting slowly along these same trails.  If I had told her that I'd be here preparing for my tenth marathon, would she believe me?  This run was much warmer than Atalanta, but the pace felt easier and I enjoyed it a little bit more.  It still felt hard without being acclimated.  California made me realize that this route is pretty flat, but it sure has made me a wimp in anything over 60F, even worse in the sun.

That afternoon, I did some runner shopping, picking up some new shoes (Saucony Virrata)  and a couple pairs of running shorts.  As I drove around town, I recognized a few streets from the course.  Each provoked a different memory.  Even if the race doesn't turn out the way I want, I'm now confident I made the right decision to come back this year.  (Although if the weather sucks again this year, would be the third in a row, I might need a few years off to get over it.)

Thursday morning, I decided to try something new.  After being nauseated during Wednesday night's dinner (just after I took my PM antibiotic dose), an obvious solution to the nausea appeared:  Don't take the antibiotic until after the run.  I could also do this for race day.  It worked, no problems at all.  In fact, I really enjoyed it.  This was my favorite part of the arboretum that circles the UW-Green Bay campus, that one mile stretch from student housing, past the golf course to the Bay of Green Bay.  I walked the same route that afternoon to take some photos and show you how pretty it is.  I ran these miles at a moderate even effort, trying to pin down my starting pace for Sunday.  2 mi, 8:10/mi.

Usually I focus primarily on time goals when I approach a marathon, but I feel like I need to be realistic in case I'm not as recovered as I'd hoped.

Race plan:
1.  Don't give up.  Not an option this time. I will not allow myself to go easy because I ran a marathon two weeks ago.  If there's any emotion, I'm allowing myself to be good and pissed off that I let myself off the hook so easily last time.  My training has been consistent and I know how to run smart races, I just have to keep it together and go.  I've watched running movies on Netflix to get back into the racing mindset.  Mentally, I think my head is finally in the right place.

2.  I'm going to enjoy this marathon and celebrate that I'm back here in this special place running my 10th marathon on my 10 year running anniversary.  I'm getting a spectator plan for my mom and sister.  I'm hoping to find them around mile 13 and mile 21 (just outside our hotel this year!). 

3.  The time goal, the thing you're likely most curious about: under 3:35.  I don't want to get ahead of the 3:30 pacer and I will try not to let the 3:35 guy pass me before mile 20.  I'll see how the day goes from there.  The forecast is a little bit warm, but it is trending downward, so I hope it keeps going that way until it hits snow.  That's about the only thing I haven't run Green Bay in.