Its been a brutal week so far at work, which has caused me to not be able to catch up on my sleep like I had wanted to, but I still think I have time to rest up before Sunday. I did successfully taper this week by cutting back the miles and now I just have a couple mile “light jog” left for tomorrow.
The big thing on my mind now is that Sunday is supposed to be brutally warm here.. not to mention seriously humid, even in the morning. Its expected to be so bad over the next two days that I got this email today from the folks at the race with some guidelines related to the heat:
a) Every marathoner (highly recommended for half marathoners as well) needs to carry water. If you do not carry a bottle, we reserve the right to stop you on the course to check your hydration.
b) You have the option, of turning around at Mile 11 and finish with the half. We reserve the right to turn everyone around , if
a) race start is delayed due to thunderstorms
b) we believe, it is no longer safe to complete the full (if you are towards the back of the field, you might not be able to complete the marathon)
c) There is a med tent at the Start /Finish (also around mile 10), but we also have an ambulance on standby at mile 14/22. If you feel ill, have a headache, feel dizzy, experience stomach distress, notify a volunteer or report to the ambulance immediately.
d) Take advantage of the aid stations. Starting at mile 11 every other aid station will have snacks, gels, gatorade, sodium tablets (to battle dehydration and prevent cramping). You won?t PR on Sunday, so why not stop for a minute eat and drink, before you proceed.
d) Slow down!!!! I have run numerous races in the heat. It is possible to run them without suffering too much, but you need to slow down, way down. Don?t race the clock. Run smart, hydrate, and celebrate after.
Gosh, good thing I picked up that fuel belt this week, I’ll be able to carry my own water in addition to what is being provided. I’m actually hoping we see some rain showers or something during the race to help stay cool, and I figure i’ll end up in just a pair of shorts for the race (why bother with a shirt, right?) I picked up a new singlet for the race the other day, but it seems pointless with these conditions.
My overall pre-race goal is to stay as hydrated as I can up until Sunday morning, do some carb loading tomorrow and hopefully be able to keep it together for the race. The seriousness of the message they were trying to send did hit me, my pace will be dictated by the conditions, i’d rather make it to the finish rather than worry too much about my time. The humidity will get us regardless of whether we run in the sun or not (which this course should be fairly shaded).
It is funny though how just 3 months ago I was hoping for warm weather for the Ocean Drive marathon, now i’m hoping for cooler weather for the 1/2 sauer 1/2 kraut marathon. I’ve never done a marathon in June before, so I guess this type of weather should be expected. I remember talking to a guy at a race who did the Gods Country marathon (which is in June also) and the temperatures that year were in the 90’s, so I’m thankful we’re only in the 80’s for this one.
The other major highlight from the week is that Wednesday night into Thursday, I got the worst cramp in my calf, WHILE I WAS SLEEPING! I was so tired though that I pretty much slept through it .. but when I woke up in the morning, it was sore and it caused me to remember what had happened. I didn’t think you can almost injure yourself in your sleep, but I almost did. It seems to be back to normal now, but i’m working hard to stay stretched out.
Maybe another post tomorrow pre-race, we’ll see how the day goes .. if not, post-race report should be up Sunday or Monday as we start to prepare for Rochester in September..