Tomorrow's the day!

Last run of the training plan selfie

As I type this, I'm enjoying a quiet cup of coffee and thinking about where I'll be in a smidge more than twenty-four hours…THE STARTING LINE! I'm 95% excited, 5% nervous. 

A few notes on weeks 18–24…

My pace at 140bpm has significantly improved with the cooler air temps and lower humidity. My average is a 10:50–11:00min/mile on those <140 training runs. I ran a "Give it all you've got" 6-miler a couple of weeks ago (NOT on the training plan, but I forgot my heart rate monitor, it was 45˚F when I went out for my run, and I really, really wanted to see what I could do.) My pace? 9:50m/mile. Made me smile. Oh…and it made me hurt!! My hips (always a problem last year after my long runs) were so sore. I kind of regretted it, and decided to save the pain for the marathon. Lesson learned.

95% Excited:

• I'm excited to spend a few hours (4-5!) running through the city of Grand Rapids. I enjoyed last week's taper week, but, this week was stressful and not being able to run off of some of that tension has left me a little cranky.
• I know that this marathon experience is going to be completely different than my first. This time there are more than 4,000 runners (vs. less than 70 marathoners at last year's Oktoberfest Marathon.) With the city of Grand Rapids to soak in, as well as the company of thousands of other runners, my mind is going to have so much to keep it occupied when the running gets tough.
• The weather is going to be perfect! A crisp 40˚F at the start, around 60˚F when I finish sometime between 12:00pm and 1:0pm.
• I have a very specific race plan. The first nine miles I'll keep my heart rate below 155bmp, over the next few hours I'll allow it to creep up at 5bpm intervals until the last mile when I'll give it everything. I know exactly when I'll fuel, how much water to drink and when. I feel very, very prepared.
• Last year I ran four long runs over 16 miles. This time…there were seven. Two 20 milers on the schedule.
• I want to see what I can do this time around. I've spent the past 24 weeks training for tomorrow. That was the hard part. This, this is the fun party at the end!

5% Nervous:

• I've spend the past 24 weeks training for tomorrow. That's 6 months!
• My expectations are high – I want to do so much better than I did in my first race. However, the outcome is unknown, and I like to know what's in store. No surprises. (Yeah, right!)
• Even though I've spent a lot more time running during this training plan, unlike last year, I never actually ran a 20-miler. My long runs were given time limits, and the longest I've spent on my feet is 4:20 minutes. I capped out at 18 miles. My long runs were capped at time AND 140bpm, I'll be racing at a much high heart rate, but still…NERVOUS!

So…that's it. Tomorrow is the day. I'll be sure to find time later next week for a full race report. My first marathon with Heart Rate Training as my guide. Wish me luck!