Racing: Behind the Scenes

This week I'm gearing up for one of my all time favorites races- The Charlottesville Ten Miler. I thought it would be fun to give you a behind the scenes look at my typical race preparation. While there are exceptions to this process (ie- deciding to run the Seaside half marathon this month just a day before the race), I strongly prefer to prepare both my mind and body. Just for fun I looked up my old race times for the C'ville ten miler and was perplexed by the results:

YEAR/TIME/PACE

2009 1:24:52 8:35

2007 1:38:34 9:55

2005 1:36:25 9:44

2004 1:49:27 10:57

2003 1:13:27 7:21

All of the numbers checked out with the exception of my 2003 results. I knew that I couldn't have run that fast and finally remembered that I was injured that year. I must have given my race chip to another runner who was clearly much father than I! Luckily, the injury didn't last long and I ended up running my first marathon that year!

Looking at my times, you'll notice that my pace is variable. I typically train at a ten minute mile pace but end up matching the pace of whoever I'm running with. It's much more enjoyable to run with a friend so I usually just follow their lead. I'm not a competitive runner and only set vague goals. There's no particular reasoning behind this, I just tend to enjoy settling into my runs and coasting, rather than going all out.

I usually try to get into the racing mindset at the beginning of the week (that would be today!). For marathons, I get pretty technical but for halfs and tens, I just try to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Here's a snapshot of how I'll prepare for this Saturday's race (working backwards):

• Saturday morning: Stretch, drink small sips of water, eat some sort of protein bar or toast with peanut butter and banana
• Friday evening: Pasta dinner (more so b/c it's fun and traditional rather than feeling the need to carb load), nice long stretch
• Friday: I always drink alot of water, avoid sodas, and eat pretty simple foods. One of my biggest challenges has been figuring out which foods to eat and which to avoid in order to keep my stomach happy. One foul move and months of training can be overshadowed by an upset stomach. For this reason, I keep it simple.
• Thursday: Drink plenty of water, work out (45 minutes on the elliptical, nice long stretch)
• Wednesday: Drink plenty of water, work out (Run 5-6 miles)
• Tuesday: Drink plenty of water, rest
• Monday: Drink plenty of water, work out (Run 8 miles. I don't usually do much of a taper for halfs and tens but recommend it if your race distance is your peak mileage)

That's my plan in a nutshell. Nothing too out of the ordinary, just being a little more conscious overall. I can't wait to be in Charlottesville, my old stomping grounds. Running around grounds to the corner, taking the stretch to downtown, passing through the cute neighborhoods, and bringing it home steady and strong. One more work week between me and the 'ville!!!