SarahDisney
So ... Yeah
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2014
Run As One (4M) Presented By JP Morgan Chase: Race Plans
Before we get into the race stuff, I just wanted to explain the new title.
5 Boroughs – Manhattan (most of my races), Queens (most of my training, possibly a few races), Brooklyn (start of the NYC Half + my usual turkey trot), the Bronx (Bronx 10 Mile), and Staten Island (Staten Island Half)
4 Parks – Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom … all during the WDW Marathon
3 “Challenges” – 9+1, 5-Borough Series, my first marathon
2 Cups of Coffee – per day. At least.
1 Runner – Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
The 3 needs work. But otherwise … I like it.
Getting My Stuff:
So, as with most NYRR races, packet pickup is all week at the RUNCENTER. I have it on my schedule for Wednesday, but it will probably be a “play it by ear” thing, depending on how work goes.
After I get my race bib, I think I’m going to buy me some shoes. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but in case I haven’t, there’s a New Balance store in the NYRR RUNCENTER. The plan is to go there, try on the 880v8 (I still haven’t decided on a color…), and hopefully walk out with a pair. If I’m feeling particularly brave, I might ask them if I can take the shoes for a mile in Central Park (I’ll have to remember to wear something I can run in). I’m guessing the answer will be no. But most likely, after a long day at work, I won’t feel up to asking.
Outfit:
Okay. I know this is the part you’ve all been waiting for.
For most races, I have some idea what I want to wear in the weeks leading up to the race. This one … not at all.
Last I checked, the forecast is for a high of 61°. That probably means either high 40s or low 50s for much of the race. But since the weather is drunk (I didn’t wear a jacket yesterday and this morning I ran in fleece-lined tights), I’m sure there will be significant changes in the forecast between now and race day.
As of right, now, the planned outfit is my colorblock skirt and my orange shirt.
Colorblock Skirt:
Orange Shirt:
I’m not 100% sold on this outfit, so if anyone has any thoughts or ideas, feel free to make some suggestions!
Getting To The Race:
One train.
One Friggin Train.
Finally.
Unlike most of the previous NYRR races I’ve done, which started on the west side, this one starts at 68th & East Drive. The F train, which is the train that stops near my house, stops at Lexington and 63rd (aka 5 streets and like 3-4 avenues away). The 6 train might stop closer, but this is still pretty close to the race start, so that’s what I’m going to do, just take the F the whole way.
It’s about an hour commute to Lex & 63rd, maybe a little less. I actually do it fairly regularly – one of my ways of getting to work is taking the F to Lex & 63rd and switching for the Q (and the reverse is how I get home almost every day). So I’ll sorta be doing this commute several times before the race.
The race starts at 8:30. I want to get there around 8ish. So I’ll probably leave the house a little before 7, just for a little extra cushion. Right now I’m thinking 6:45 as my goal departure time … that should get me there in the 7:45-8 range.
Training:
Training has been going decently.
This was a hybrid Sarah/Coach DopeyBadger plan. I made the plan, but with input from Coach Billy, and based on the principles I learned from my last plan.
I knew going into this plan that it was going to be hard to stay on track. I actually did a better job than I thought I would – I only had to cut one run short and didn’t skip any runs.
I introduced a new type of run for this plan, the Daniels T Pace run, which consisted of running at Lactate Threshold for a period of time, taking a rest interval, and then repeating. I did three of these runs, and … they didn’t all suck. The second one, which was part of a hybrid long run, was pretty good. The first one was too fast and didn’t feel great, and the third one was too slow.
So … what did the second run have that the first and third didn’t? It’s more something it didn’t have – hills. I did the first and third runs on my normal route, which has hills. Because it had a longer warmup, I was able to do the run a little further from home, on a flatter course. T pace runs are best done on a flatter surface, so while I did enjoy having this type of run as part of my plan, I’m not sure it’s very practical for me. Something to think about for sure.
Race Plan & Goals:
I’ve given this a lot of thought over the past day or so.
The goal for this race is continuous running.
But even with the goal just being to not take walk breaks, I still needed a pace to focus on.
My first thought was the pace I was using for my Daniels T Pace runs (10:20), but … hills. So then I thought slow it down a bit, like 10:30-10:40ish.
But then on my run today, I came up with a better thought…
Who cares?
I don’t have a time goal for this race. I don’t care how I feel at the finish. All I care about is finishing without a walk break. I don’t even care if my pace is consistent or if I start off super fast and finish super slow (or vice versa).
So the new plan is … just run. If I feel like I can go faster, speed up. If I feel like I’m struggling, slow down. But just keep running, at whatever pace feels right.
I know this probably sounds like a terrible strategy, but … for the headspace I’m in right now, I think it makes sense. I don’t want to think about pace. I just want to keep running until I hit that finish line.
Post-Race:
No idea. No plans as of yet. I’ll probably just play it by ear.
Track & Watch Me:
As per usual, you can track me at https://liveresults.nyrr.org/e/NYRR-RUNASONE-2018#/tracker (just fyi, if you go to liveresults.nyrr.org, it will automatically redirect to the upcoming race, so if I ever forget to share the tracking link, you can just use that). I will post my bib number once I’ve picked it up.
Race starts at 8:30am (for those of you who struggle to make time zone adjustments, I’m in the same time zone as WDW, so just think about what time it is at Walt Disney World), and I’ll probably be in corral K, so expect me to cross the start line somewhere between 8:35 and 8:40.
