I’ll say it again: cortisone is a fucking miracle drug. 48 hours after the shot into my tendon and the problem is all but gone.
I did my penultimate marathon-y run on the track yesterday: 12 miles with 9 at a few heatbeats below marathon effort. My heart rate during the warmup miles was just way too high — low 70%s for 10:00+ minute miles. Something was off. I suspect it was a combination of lousy night’s sleep, monthly hormonal shenanigans and possibly the effect of being on heavy duty NSAIDs for the past week. Not surprisingly, my speed for the higher effort miles wasn’t anything to write home about either.
I’m not allowing that performance to rattle me. I do know that it’s been very easy for me to run at 85-86% effort for long periods of time (up to 2 hours) and finish up with plenty of energy left over. So I’m confident in my endurance and feel that if I hit things on the right day, my speed will be respectable. I’ve been off the NSAIDs for 24 hours and this morning’s recovery run seem to indicate that things are getting sorted out with regard to energy output vs. speed. I’ve got a little bit of speedwork on Friday, so that should be another checkpoint.
I have a goal time for the race, but I’m not going to share it this time around. There are so many variables and my goals for this race aren’t so much about seeing a particular time on the clock as they are about running at the appropriate effort and managing my energy output. A negative split would be a bonus.
I’ve raced five marathons and four of them have been mediocre to disastrous. What I want most next week is to run a solid, consistent pace — without spending the last 30-45 minutes of the race feeling like I want to die.
Races Like a Girl 
Glad to hear the ankle is relatively back to normal and that your running without pain.
Not sure if you’ve checked out the Run, Sacramento Blog at all (there’s a link to it on my blog). They have been posting race details in 2-3 mile increments by Tim Tweitmeyer over the past few weeks. The details are good, and Tim is a legend. I believe he’s run CIM 26 times? Check it out for some good insight.
Taper hard!
I didn’t know about that one. I’ll “check it out” (as all the kids are saying these days.) The two split/elevation charts you shared via Kevin have also been tremendously helpful on the planning/obsessing front.
Stick to the planning front. It’s a great course and not worth obsessing over.
Sounds like you’re in pretty good shape heading into this thing. I’m crossing my fingers and waiting for good news.
My heart is with you for this one, I can so relate to the dread of a crap race and am wishing you a wonderful day where everything goes right in every way. Meanwhile, don’t sweat the HR too much, all the things you listed, plus the stress of upcoming race itself is likely doing a number there. I just reread your last sentence, that would be my dream race. May you have that and more.
That’s the best race plan I ever heard. Go out by feel and find your groove. Make sure it feels right and easy by mile 5. This is when your body should be adjusted to the effort. Then just hold it from there.
That’s what worked best for me so far.
You’ll do well Julie. Relax, and on the day, execute the required effort.
I like the idea of not having a public goal. Or a ‘B’ or ‘C’ goal. Your report will say it all — hope it’s a happy one!