Race Day Map

Well I'm getting amped up for my race and I took the first step and downloaded a copy of the race map.

On the race site they had a nice Google Earth print out of the streets and even included directions in the top corner.

I also checked out the elevation for the race and it looks like it is only an incline of 121 feet for the entire race.

Although that being said it seems that almost the entire 121 feet happens all at once around mile 2 so I'll just need to remember that going into the race. But knowing about it ahead of time has helped me mentally prepare for race day.

My planned technique for race day is also going to be to try to start out slow, really slow. I have the usually beginner tendency to start fast and then burn out around 1.75 miles so I'm going to try to really hold back for the first mile or even 2 miles and then use whatever energy I have left to really sprint the last mile of the race.

The last mile of the race is certainly what I'm most concerned about but I'm really hoping that I can dig deep and use the excitement of racing to pull me through the last mile.

All I want to do is run the whole thing. That is goal and priority number 1. I am going to give it everything I've got to not stop and walk towards the end of the race.

In addition to printing out the race day map I've also said bye-bye to booze until after the race and am trying to hydrate as much as possible.

I'm also trying to get in some good foods to keep me feeling good on race morning which means lots of veggies, fruit, water, whole grains, and healthy proteins.

Paul is going to come with me on race day and then afterwards I think we are going to go to a brewery a couple towns over. Definitely sounds like a good reward to me after the race. The only trick will be bringing a change of clothes and probably a towel so I can clean up afterwards. Since the race is 2 hours away I won't have a chance to shower afterwards but the current plan is to basically dump a nalgene or two over myself, towel off, change clothes, and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

I've got a 2.5 mile run planned for tonight after work that I'm going to take at my planned race pace and then I'm going to do 1.5 on Thursday so keep my legs moving. Friday I'm going to take off but will walk after work and will plan on getting lots of rest. I went to sleep last night at 9:30 and it was amazing. I woke up feeling pretty energized after 8 hours of sleep so I felt pretty good. I'll just need to make sure I get to bed early on Thursday and Friday night so I can go into Saturday feeling rested.

That's really all that is going on here. Been a busy week but really looking forward to race day.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!