ONE WEEK Until the Napa Valley Marathon

ONE WEEK UNTIL THE MARATHON? Oh my. Hopefully, exactly one week from right now, I'll be approaching (if not already across!) the finish line at the Napa Valley Marathon!

Bottom line: I think I'm ready. Really, I think I have a good chance to really rock this marathon.

Training (err, tapering) went well this last week. I was nervous about the tempo run (5 miles total, including 3 @ 7:19 pace), because I don't think I've ever run three consecutive miles (without a break) that quickly. I rocked it, averaging 7:10 for the three miles, and feeling awesome! All of the other runs were fairly easy, with some strides to get my legs moving.

• Legs: Feel strong. And tight. I need to up my stretching/rolling (I've, admittedly, been slacking).
Feet: Much better. I am confident that I will lose my toenail now, but it might hold off until after the race. Either way, it doesn't hurt or impede my running.
• Nerves: Surprisingly, a bit calmer than last week. Still nervous, but much more confident.
• Head: Totally in the game. I've been reading "In Pursuit of Excellence" by Terry Orlick, as recommended by a friend on our cycling team, which is really motivating me to work on my focus, positivity, and overall mental toughness.

Let's Talk Strategy

I know I run my best when I start slow. Like, really slow. I'll do a short warmup before the race, probably no more than a total of 10 minutes (broken in half) of very slow jogging, but I also need to start the race slower than my goal pace. This will likely be a huge challenge, because I get really worked up right before the start and ALWAYS go too fast. All that adrenaline makes it feel easy! The other thing is that this course is "rolling hills" for the first six miles, but most of those hills are in the first three, then again after mile 5. Hills are not my strength, so taking them slower really saves me in the long run. Here's a look at the race profile:

Here's the plan:
Miles 1-3: SLOW DOWN. 8:20 as goal pace, DO NOT go faster than 8:15. Seriously. (mile 2 has some downhill, so it might be at 8:10, but I'm generalizing here).
Miles 4-5: Downhill, so just take it easy and work off those 30 seconds added in the first 3 miles. Try to average 8:00.
Mile 6: Big 'ol hill. Go no faster than 8:10, but 8:15-8:20 is probably safer. This mile has the up and the down of the hill, but I'm still not going to push it on the down — just enough to not have an outlier of a mile.
Miles 7-13: Run at pace (8:10), and DO NOT SPEED UP. I know it will be tempting.
Halfway Point: Although I will hopefully be doing this regularly, I'm making a special effort to check in with myself at the halfway point (13.1) — how are my legs? my breathing? my feet? I shouldn't be struggling at this point, so hopefully I'm not... If I'm feeling awesome, I'm giving myself permission to speed up slightly at this point. No faster than 8:00 miles.
Miles 13-20: Stay between 8:00 and 8:10! There are some hills, but everything should even out.
Miles 21-26.2: Go as fast as I think I can manage. If that is only 8:10, fine! If I'm feeling awesome, I'm going to push it. There is nothing I like more than finishing a long run FAST — it's really quite exhilarating. I like imagining these miles as being extra-fast... but I realize I'm going to be exhausted by this point. Or maybe not! I guess we'll find out!

Now, maybe I'm being totally silly to plan the race out like this, when I have no clue how I'll feel on race day; however, I love having a plan, and am much better at performing when I know what to do. I'm confident I CAN do the plan listed above, so I will! I'll also be taking a GU (or Clif-shot) every 4-5 miles. In training I've been taking them every 35 minutes, so this should be perfect.

The bottom line is that I'm just excited to get out and run my first real marathon! I've said, for years, that I wanted to train for and run a marathon... but I've never followed through. This time, I'm not only planning to run one, but to run it FAST. I'm not just aiming to break 4 hours, as I always though my goal would be. Part of me still feels crazy for aiming so high on my first try, but the other part of me (and the other half {Derek}) are so confident that this is well within my abilities. I hope we're right.

I'll let you know how it went next week! Keep an eye on my twitter this week, I'll post a link so you can follow me LIVE! Since it's a small marathon, there is only a check-point at the half, but it's better than nothing! [EDIT: Here is the link!]