Race plan - Matt Aaronson Chicago Marathon 2013
I have never committed a race plan to paper before. I've certainly done a lot of thinking and visualization prior to races, but never a written "race plan". Perhaps it is too much time on my hands from the taper, but I sat down to write a few points and now I see I've written a book. And IT'S JUST A PLAN…WHICH COULD BE OUT THE WINDOW IN THE FIRST 5 MINUTES IF SOMETHING FREAKISH OCCURS!!
In any case this is my first marathon so any and all comments and suggestions are welcome.
Truthfully as I read the plan I wrote below, I am very apprehensive that I'll look like a fool if I don't even come close to the lofty goals (and indeed, they are damn lofty). But hey, this is my plan at the moment and the worst that can happen is that I have a bad race and the plan didn't get executed. I promise not to delete this post even if the result make me look like a fool for writing it!!!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO MARATHON RACE PLAN
SUNDAY OCTOBER 13, 7:30AM
Thursday before the Sunday race
- no workout
- normal work day
- normal diet, maybe slightly carb-skewed, but light on calories (target cals = RMR of ~1600)
Friday before Sunday race
- no workout, but bike commute to office ~4.5 miles / 16 minutes each way
- normal work day
- packet pickup in mid-afternoon if I can get out of the office and take later-afternoon calls from home
- 80% carbs, elevated hydration, calorie target ~2000 (slightly over RMR)
- evening: stay off of feet
- attempt to sleep really well – take an Advil PM tonight????
Saturday (day before the race)
- morning run 2 miles with 6x30"(30") strides
- pancakes for breakfast immediately after the run, ~600-700 cals
- stay off of feet all day
- large late lunch, ~1500 cals, target ~1pm when kids are back from swimming…prefer rice, hopefully paella if my favorite tapas place is open for lunch
- hydrate well all day with G2 and water, focus on G2
- target a few handfuls of mixed nuts throughout the day, probably will total 600+ cals over the course of the day from this
- light dinner, ~400 cals, pasta with some olive oil
- lay out running clothes and everything I need before bed: singlet, shorts, socks, shoes (put footpod and shoe tag on race shoes), race belt with gels and bib, shot bloks, Gatorade for pre-start, toilet paper in a Ziploc bag, $20 bill, AMEX and house key in running shorts pocket, HR strap, Garmin watch (charged), sunglasses
- clif bar before bed, 240 cals
- bedtime 10pm or so…try to sleep but don't expect much of that
RACE DAY
- CURRENT FORECAST (as of Tuesday evening): low 50's at race start, high of 67, strong possibility of rain, WIND FROM NNE @9mph (that would be GOOD, not great, but a LOT better than wind from the south)
- alarm set 5am, get dressed, coffee and out of house in <30 mins</p>
- OPEN QUESTION: Should I eat breakfast? Planned wakeup is 2.5 hours pre-race so I think it is warranted. My usual wakeup is 1 hour before my long runs and I eat nothing other than shot bloks 5 mins prior. But 2.5 hours is a lot longer and I have done hard ~9-10am LT workouts after having a bowl of Kashi cereal at ~7am. So I think it is ok. If it was a half ironman I'd have an Ensure at wakeup and Clif bar driving to the race site, but this marathon isn't a 5-hour event requiring so much food, and doesn’t have a lot of low-HR biking upfront.
- Arrive at Chicago Hilton hotel by 6:15am, go to CARA lounge and have another coffee. Hopefully lose some weight but don't stress out if it doesn't happen…I ran a 1:26 half marathon without a pre-race port-a-potty.
- Head down to the start corrals and do a very short warmup: 5 minute run, start around 7:30 pace, work down to around 7:10 average pace for the whole run by the end.
- Get into start corral (corral A, first corral after the elites), try to start on the left hand side
- Eat 3 shot bloks and chase with water, stay loose, reset Garmin
RACE START 7:30AM
Mile 0-1.25
- Take it easy, just don't get trampled in the first half mile
- Accept a SLIGHTLY overzealous first half mile as the crowd settles in. No darting and weaving. Let people fly by.
- Ignore Garmin for first ~3 miles in the downtown area…satellites are unreliable and pace will be all over the map. Trigger manual splits every mile for the race
- Expect ~7:00 at mile 1, maybe faster
- Take the first two turns – left onto Grand and left onto State – on the inside
Mile 1.25-3
- Settle into a good sustainable pace. Expect 7:05 or so. May not find my groove just yet but that's okay.
- Skip the first aid station (take water from all subsequent aid stations at race pace, but slow down at all aid stations following a gel to ensure it is sufficiently chased)
- 20:30-21:15 at the 5k
Mile 3-7.5 (northbound)
- Settle into RACE PACE 6:45-6:48/mile
- This is the first test of the day…how hard does race pace feel today? If it feels hard, dial back to something sustainable and revisit race goals at the 10k.
- If it is easy, 6:43 is the speed limit. No faster at this point. No banking time.
- This section is into the wind, find guys to draft off of. It shouldn't be hard, there will be ~800-1000 people finishing sub-3hr and my guess is 2000 ahead of me at this point
- Run the tangents
- Spectators who may recognize me (friends, colleagues, etc) from mile 4 to mile 10/11, so look strong!
- GU Roctane at mile 5 when approaching the aid station
- Look for approx 43:00 at the 10k. "On pace" is 42:40 but I may not be "on pace" by 10k. If not running race pace by the 10k, reset goals based on 10k split and whatever I've settled into. That is the new race pace and the new goal. Too bad but not every day is your day…accept it.
Mile 7.5-13.1
- This section will hopefully have a tailwind, if so, should be running 5-10 sec ahead of "10k adjusted race pace"
- I know these streets very well and drive and bike them all the time. This section will hopefully fly by…click off the miles, run the tangents
- Family will be cheering at mile ~8.75 in front of the Edge restaurant
- Gel at mile 8 ideally, otherwise if stomach isn't settled wait until mile 9.5. Need to have one by 9.5 or I'll be behind.
- Gel at mile 12 ideally, although if the last one was at 9.5, may need to wait until mile 14
- Half-marathon split of 1:28:30-1:29 is ideal. Over 1:30 and running 6:4x means I'll need to really focus on pace. Over 1:31:30 means I've been working off a revised goal already…
Mile 13.1-18.25
- Concentrate on maintaining pace, this will start to require real focus. Garmin screen will just have lap pace and cadence, new lap triggered manually each mile
- Run the tangents and find people to draft off of…all this will keep the mind occupied
- Gel at mile 17.75
- UP TO MILE 18 SHOULD BE IN THE BAG UNLESS IT IS A REALLY BAD DAY…I HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE IN MY 18-MILE WITH 13@ RACE PACE WORKOUT…AND ON THAT DAY IT WAS REALLY HUMID AND I WAS NOT TAPERED
- Family should be at mile ~18.25…if I want it, they'll have a fresh singlet for me here
Mile 18.25-23
- This is the serious "no man's land"…expect few spectators, unfamiliar roads and scenic running by the highway
- "Less than 5 miles of this until the homestretch"
- Look forward to Chinatown at mile 21
- Run the tangents
- Try to get down a gel before the mile 21 aid station but not the end of the world if I can't
- Focus on pace. Whatever the race pace has been up to now, NEED TO MAINTAIN THAT RACE PACE AND AVOID A FADE
- If cadence drops at this point, focus on form and pick it up. Cadence should be 90…if below 88 there are issues that must be addressed
- I HAVE DONE A 22 MILE TRAINING RUN AND FINISHED IT WITH A 6:41 MILE AND MUCH GAS IN THE TANK
Mile 23 to finish
- Time-check at mile 23…2:38 is within 6 seconds of "on target", 22 minutes to go. With that in mind, revisit goal to see what might be possible with a final push, and WHAT IS AT RISK IF THE PACE SLOWS.
- At the mile 23.5 turn northbound on Michigan Ave, this is the homestretch…expect a headwind
- Focus on pace and on passing people. Pick people off one-by-one.
- Draft off of guys into the headwind if possible, but be really aware of the pace implications now.
- At mile 25, empty whatever is left in the tank (probably not much, however)
- At the turn from Roosevelt onto Columbus, put bib in front for pics
- After the turn into the finish chute there is still almost 0.2 miles to go…fixate on the clock above the line and keep going hard (ideally it reads 2:57:x or 3:02:x when I make the turn…if 2:59:x or 3:04:x, RUN LIKE A MAN POSSESSED. If 3:09:x run damn hard but know it wasn't my day and I'll be doing this again sometime)
- Run through the line, then stop.
- Stop Garmin
- Likely the med people will ask "are you ok", say whatever to get them away. No med tent.
- I FINISHED A FREAKIN' MARATHON!!!!!!!!
The season is over…time to eat!!!!!!!!
Gel summary (planned based on aid stations):
- 3 shot bloks pre-start
- Mile 5: Gu Roctane
- Mile 8 or 9.5: Gu Chocolate Outrage
- Mile 12.5 or 14: Gu Chocolate Outrage or Roctane
- Mile 17.75: Gu Chocolate Outrage or Roctane
- Mile 21: Gu Roctane
Comments
with their quote above breakfast should be about 3.5 cups of apple sauce, 1 banana, 1 scoop of whey protein and 1 bottle of a sports drink to be consumed - 3 hours before the race. Believe me this will clear your insides out so later you will not have any GI issues.
Your food for the day before should be tapered so you go to bed a bit hungry, the pasta idea I never did get ? As you race that is the last thing you want in your bowels waiting to digest.
I would take my own GUs to the race with caffeine in them.
Matt ... I have no doubts about you executing with precision. It sounds like the biggest worry is self-doubt, understandable since it is your first marathon. But you know how to race, and you know how to control yourself. You're really not doing anything new menatlly, just doing it for a bit longer. And physically, you have the speed and the fitness to meet your pacing targets which you have honed during your training. You know what you can do, so rein in the RPE for the first bit, then slowly let the leash out mile by mile, and take no prisoners in the last 10K.
Go ahead and eat a breakfast. I'd suggest all liquid with maybe some yoghurt, 600-800 cal, and stay away from applesauce.
You didn't mention what you will wear, but I hope it's sleeveless, and maybe even unzippable, like a tri singlet. No hat, just a visor if you want to keep rain out of your eyes.
The outfit is:
- shorts: Nike 2" splits
- singlet: Nike plain white running singlet (sleeveless)
- socks: Feetures!
- sunglasses: the Oakleys I wear for EVERYTHING...normal lenses even if overcast
- hat/visor: none
- shoes: Addidas Adizero 2.0
- throwaway top and hat if it's cold in the morning (likely unnecessary...looking like 50s)
Miles 4-11ish are awesome- just a big ol party. I think it is around mile 15 when you are headed west that can get a little empty, less spectators get out that way. Just be prepared for that, I've always lost some mojo there. In Chinatown, LOOK FOR THE DRAGON! Somehow in all my three years I never actually saw the dragon, despite that my friend has a picture of me with the dragon in the background.
Meeting people afterwards can be tough, and I think it might be different this year with security too. It takes spectators a LONG time to get to the runner reunite area, so just be prepared for that if you are meeting anyone. Might be best to get out of the hubbub and meet back at the CARA area.
Have a great race! I absolutely love the Chicago Marathon, and will be out there somewhere cheering.
Having been a spectator of the race every year I know the vibe on the north side is awesome, although I'll be interested to see how much of it I soak in. I know I'm in the minority, but generally in races things like the natural beauty of the course and the vibe from crowd support is lost on me. But the Chicago marathon is a bigtime event so I'll see if it keeps me fired up beyond the first mile when the novelty of "I'm doing the Chicago marathon" has worn off!!
Matt -2x what Al said. You know how to race, You know how to pace yourself. You're just going a little farther than you have in the past, but that "a little farther" part is where your mental toughness has to kick in. Concentrate on that cadance of 90 the last 10k to keep your mind focused, and don't worry about the mental calculations of the time...it may be hard to do the math anyway.
On thing I noticed in your plan... I didn't see anything about taking in electolytes, Just water and gels during the race. I don't use gels much so I don't know how much sodium and potassium they have in them, but probably not much. Might be something to consider .
Good luck. I know you are going to have a good race. Remember "the line" is at mile 18 for an open marathon too.
I'll be coming down to the city to spectate so I'll be looking for you.
You are probably very right on the gels. On my long runs in training I usually have the shot bloks before the start then gels at 4mi, 8mi and 12 mi. During my 18-20 mile runs I had 3 gels in total during the run. On my 22-miler I actually only had 2 because I gave one away to someone who needed it…and I was fine. In long course tris I go with fewer calories than average. So I expect I will drop one of these gels at least. But I need to make sure to do 3 I think, and don't want to have to wait until I feel I need it…by then it is too late!!
The singlet change is an idea from the Hansons. If I have a chance to try it in practice on Saturday I would consider it. But if no chance to practice it, no way. In any case it sounded like an interesting idea…I'm still mulling it over.
I've only done the Chicago Marathon once so don't have much input - be careful at the aid stations - especially that first one - lots of wet paper cups on the ground can be slippery. Oh - you're in that speedy first corral - never mind!