NYC Marathon Race Plan - Please Critique
This will be my first stand alone Marathon since last running NYC in 1996. My goal was simple, lighter and faster than my PR set in 1995 when I was 30 Years old, I am now 48, but smarter and training better. For those that don't know me or my story, to rule out a Cardiac diagnosis, I did no exercise for 9 Months from September 9 - June 11 of this year. The idea of doing this Marathon only came about in the first week of August after building a good running base and I decided to do a Charity Entry raising money for Ironhearts.
I achieved the lighter too early, for Kona (spectator) and got to my 1995 Marathon weight of 152 (lost 22lbs since lake placid!) I am sitting at 156 and hopeful I can get down to the 152 by the time I start eating on Friday. This will be my 4th stand alone Mary (the other 3 were run in '95 & '96) I have run 3 others on the back end of 3 IMs.
shameless plug for my fundraising: http://www.active.com/donate/kickstartyourheart/dinhofer
Thanks to Matt Araonson for his Chicago Plan loosely followed here
NYC MARATHON RACE PLAN
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3, 10:05 AM
Thursday before the Sunday race
- easy workout - run 3 miles easy
- normal diet, maybe slightly carb-skewed, but light on calories (target cals = RMR of ~1600)
Friday before Sunday race
- easy workout - run 3 miles easy
- normal work day
- packet pickup in mid-afternoon, go home and chill after
- 80% carbs, elevated hydration, calorie target ~2000 (slightly over RMR)
- evening: stay off of feet
- attempt to sleep really well
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
- shopping list G2, Naked shake
- Print Article on strategy to read on bus, VERY accurate
http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/new-york-city-marathon-race-strategy/
- large late lunch, ~1500 cals, target ~1pm (suggestions for meal?)
- hydrate well all day with G2 and water, focus on G2
- target two prepackaged portions of mixed nuts throughout the day, probably will total 500 cals from this
- light dinner, ~400 cals, pasta with some olive oil
- buy "naked" shake for morning breakfast
- lay out running clothes and everything I need before bed:
Ironheart tee shirt
LS shirt for under
socks, shoes
Visor (if weather is sunny)
light or Heavy running gloves depending on forecast
Gatorade for pre-start, toilet paper in a Ziploc bag, $20 bill, , HR strap, Garmin watch (charged), road ID
Pre race (throwaway) warm clothes consisting of sweats, ski hat, gloves
Article (above) to read on bus in morning
Printed Bus confirmation ticket
race belt with gels and bib, shot bloks?
shorts or tights based on start time predicted weather predictions
- Pack UPS bag for baggage check(post race items) - Sweat pants, change of shirt, sox, underwear, jacket, gloves, hat, sunglasses, credit card, $100 cash, cell phone, car key
- 2 honey stinger waffles before bed, 320 cals
- bedtime 10pm or so…try to sleep but don't expect much of that
RACE DAY
- CURRENT FORECAST (will be added to this post a few days prior to race day)
- alarm set 4:30am, get dressed, and out of house in <30 mins [Pause to drink hi carb "naked" shake]</p>
- stop at shell station for coffee.
- I am taking a bus from Tarrytown (20 minute drive from my house, bus departs at 5:45 AM, 20 minutes extra time built in to utilize restroom at the hotel bus departs from
- Arrive at Fort Wadsworth Staging area around 7 AM, check post race bag with appropriate UPS truck. Find warm tent if possible to stay in as long as possible. Use portapotties as needed, have three hours to chill, keep drinking G2
- Head down to the start corrals and do a very short warmup: 5 minute run, start around 9:00 pace, work down to around 8:15 average pace for the whole run by the end.
- Get into start corral (corral 26, 2nd corral in Orange Start), try to start on the left hand side
- drink water, stay loose, reset Garmin
RACE START 10:05AM
Mile 0-2
- 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, note that it could be slow, there will be 1000 people from the first corral ahead of me. No darting and weaving. Let people fly by.
- Try to lock into RPE and ensure adrenaline isn't making me overzealous on first mile UPHILL …satellites are unreliable and pace will be all over the map.
- Expect ~8:45 at mile 1, maybe faster
mile .8 - 2 are downhill, if traffic is open, open up stride, but be careful on the downhill of running TOO fast
Mile 3-15
- Settle into a good sustainable pace. Expect 8:15-8:20 or so. spend miles 3-5 to find my groove.
- Try to tune out the massive crowds in Brooklyn
- take water from all aid stations at slower pace(I am not good at drinking while running)
Pulaski Bridge - while the NYC Marathon has lots of long graded ups and downs, there are a few major hills,
the Pulaski Bridge at mile 13.25 is one, but not a big one. This is along a "no man's land" part of the course
Mile 14.75
- turn onto Queensboro (59th Street) bridge
- ready for THE 2nd hardest yet biggest hill of the course, the total climb is 3/4mile long, expect to run a ~9:15, try hard not to make it all up on first avenue.
Mile 15.5 - 16.25
- Downhill on the bridge, can make up some time here, but don't overdue it,
- keep in check on speed, the noise of first avenue comes into play, adrenaline will start to rush
Mile 16.25 - 18 - FIRST AVENUE
- This is probably one of the most emotional places to run, the crowds are unbelievably thick and loud
- THIS is where the work begins, the crowds will let you forget that, stay focused on staying on pace, it is relatively flat here with a downhill on 17.5- Spectators who may recognize me (friends, colleagues, etc) so look strong!
Mile 18 - 23
- This section to me is the mentally hardest section of the NYC Marathon, the 1st avenue crowds drop significantly as you move from the gentrified upper east side to Harlem, in the past there was a sharp line at 96th street (mile 18ish), it quickly becomes "no-man's land"
- This entire section will get progressively harder and harder, I know all of the roads well, except for those in the Bronx, I plan on running the entire last 10 miles of the course on the Sunday prior to race to re-familiarize myself with it.
Mile 22.75 - 23.5
- the smallish hill from 22.75 - 23.5 is the toughest to me on the course, there are not a lot of spectators here, you have a lot of miles under your legs and you want to get this done. stay focused, expect pace to slow here.
- Say hi to my old coach Mindy who will be at the entrance to central park.
- It is ok to push here, I did a 23 Mile run in warm temperatures & humidity in Kona and had something left
Mile 23.5 - finish
- First mile here is nice and flat crowds quickly thicken up as you run adjacent to the reservoir
- once starting down the hill towards the 72nd street crossover, the crowds are as thick and noisy as first avenue, I often consider this area akin to the "running of the bulls." If you wanted to quit here, the crowds would simply throw you back in. OK to feed off the crowds and push the pace here.
- slight uphill after 72nd street into a downhill section that takes you to Grand Army Plaza in front of The Plaza Hotel
- the last painful uphill is the upgrade on Central Park South from 5th -7th Avenues - work it, less than a mile to go
- In this section (mile 23 onwards) start to progressively empty whatever is left in the tank (probably not much, however)
- After Columbus Circle, put bib in front for pics
- Run through the line, then stop, if possible, walk around, but they do try to keep runners in order of finish in the chutes...
- Stop Garmin
- Likely the med people will ask "are you ok", do a self check and determine.
- I FINISHED A FREAKIN' MARATHON(again!)!!!!!!!!
The season is over…time to eat!!!!!!!!
Gel summary:
- Mile 5:
- Mile 9:
- Mile 13:
- Mile 17:
- Mile 21:
- Mile 23:
Comments
Good luck!!!
Stay stupid slow the first 3-4 miles. Rev it up in Manhatten. DON'T go into over drive the last 1-2 miles, please !!!
NO ON THE PASTA DINNER!
THEN AFTER BREAKFAST THE DAY BEFORE RACE, TAPER FOOD THROUGHOUT THE DAY. LAST MEAL SHOULD BE LIGHT (GO TO BED ALMOST A BIT HUNGRY). FOOD CHOICES THIS DAY SHOULD BE CARBOHYDRATE RICH, LOW FAT, AND VERY LOW FIBER. GREAT EXAMPLES ARE: FAT FREE FIG NEWTON’S, PRETZELS, BAGELS, POWER BARS AND SPORT DRINKS. DON’T HAVE ANY FIBEROUS FRUITS OR VEGGIES!
ALSO THE DAY BEFORE - AS PLANNED BASED ON WEEK’S TRAINING VOLUME PLUS 60% (785-835 GRAMS) OF CARBOHYDRATE.
IF YOU HAVEN'T TRIED THE APPLESAUCE BREAKFAST IN TRAINING DON'T DO IT NOW BUT THAT IS THE BEST WAY TO CLEAN UP YOUR GI TRACT FOR A RACE.
RACE EXECUTION: MILE 1-5 ADD 15 SECONDS TO YOUR RACE PACE, MILE 6-20 SUBTRACT THAT 15 SECONDS AS WELL AS ANOTHER 5 SECONDS (EXAMPLE PACE GOAL OF 9 MIN MILE, 1-5 YOU RUN AT 9:15, AT MILE 6-20 YOU RUN 8:55) DO THE MATH IT PUTS YOU AT PACE BY MILE 20. AT MILE 20-26 LET ER RIP OR JUST HANG ON!
GOOD LUCK BRO, HAVE FUN
Looks good overall. Knowing the roads/course is a huge asset - lets you be mentally prepared on the fly as you approach different sections and hills.
How much liquid are you taking in pre-race? Between the 430 smoothie and 4 hours of G2 sipping you may need to pee a lot. My strategy would be to do the bulk of the G2 pre-loading 30 minutes prior to gun time and only minimal 'sipping' before that. You really don't want to over hydrate then purge your electrolytes into the port-o-potties.
Al is right - stupid slow the first few. Keep you HR below or low zone2 until mile 3ish. It will help you maintain your race pace in the late miles.
For the hills let RPE be your driver, informed by pace and HR. Allowing a pace-range for uphill / downhill, you smooth out the course on RPE. Last week at MDI (lots of hills) my target range was +/- 15 sec on my goal pace. On the ups, maintain RPE and allow your pace to slow somewhat. Avoid spiking HR above zone3, keep cadence steady with shorter strides. On the downs, especially the steeper ones, don't over-cook the pace beyond the 15 or so secs of your goal pace. You don't' want to trash your legs on the 'easy' sections. Save them for the final 6+ miles.
Not sure if you are a fan of loud crowds - I most certainly am not. If crowd noise is distracting for you, bring a pair of ear plugs like I did for my last 2 Bostons. Wearing them let me stay in my own box and not be subject to deafening screams along the course.
Scott, I think you are going to do great. Be patient and let the race develop. Don't force it early and be prepared to suffer for the final hour.
Oh yeah, look for photogaphers and SMILE!
As for the race plan, not too many comments (obviously!!!).
A few thoughts:
- Probably more calories, your RMR at 155 lb is not 1600. Add 250-300 to all numbers
- I LOVE the idea of running an unfamiliar, late-in-the-race, tough portion of the course the week before. If you read my Vegas race reports from 2011 and 2012 you'll see I did exactly that -- in 2011 I got utterly crushed by the last ~10 miles of the bike...all uphill into T2. I was hurting bad and was physically and mentally wasted by that stretch and subsequently got brutalized on the run. The next year I went the Thursday before the race, drove that stretch 3 times then got on my bike and rode it at around 2pm in 105 degree heat. On race day I OWNED that part of the course. It was awesome.
- Agree with Steve on the pre-race liquid. On race moring I went a little lighter than in my race plan and it was a good move. The problem with NYC is that the race starts sort of late so you need more food and hydration on race morning compared with Chicago, which started at 7:30am
- Keep off your feet on race morning. I sat under a tree near the start line. When I got into my corral I was standing, but a lot fo guys were on the sides by the barriers sitting. You'll be on a bridge so it's tougher, but try to do that.
- Sorry if this is too graphic, but keep your Gatorade bottle to piss into. I've done this before a lot of races. In NYC it's even more critical since my understanding is that the bridge has no port-a-potties.
- Have a few things in your head that you want to think about in the last 6 miles, things to focus on related to your execution. What do you want to accomplish in those miles? Focus on that!!
- Have a few key splits you want to see at certain points to understand how you are tracking to your goals, so you can adjust if necessary. If you're behind you don't want to get into a mentally bad place, you just want to recalibrate. For me, I had some key splits at the half and mile 23. I also ran with a "pace tat" that I picked up for free from the Nike pace team at the expo (I cut off the top half and just put on the bottom).
CRUSH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Can anyone tell me how to get these posts to format with only one line space per "enter" key...
At Al - Hear you loud & clear on your comment...
Tim - thanks
Rob - Good point!
David - good stuff!! what is the applesauce bkfst for future reference?
Brenda - thanks for always spreading good mojo!
Joe - Thanks!
Steve - more good stuff
Matt - where can I read up on RMR?
did not get to run the course yesterday, but know the park section very well from running it daily for many years, the rest i did 2x and have good familiarity, having driven 1st ave and other parts often. as a point of reference, they stage you in the Fort Wadsworth compound adjacent to the toll plaza (plenty of porta johns) and only move you out onto the roadway about 15 minutes to start time.
Hardly Graphic & a VERY good thought!
btw, loved the Paella Idea and am having this for lunch on saturday! http://www.salaonhudson.com/#!about-paella/c1qwv
Regarding RMR, just google "resting metabolic rate" and you'll find a whole bunch of online calculators. I use the one embedded in TrainingPeaks.
I have run the NY marathon twice, albeit 20+ years ago, and I recently ran much of the course this past summer)
The course hasn't fundamentally changed in all those years, but there may be a few details that have...one of them is the matter of corrals at the start...so I can't comment on that.
It is a key fact that the elevation profile of the New York marathon is dominated by the Verazzano (sp?) bridge that connects Staten Island to Brooklyn.
I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THAT THE DANGER IS NOT THE FIRST MILE, BUT THE SECOND MILE. AND NOT REALLY THE SECOND MILE, BUT WHAT YOU DO RIGHT AFTER THE SECOND MILE.
Look at the elevation profile (http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/documents/elevation-map.pdf). You will see that the climb up to the top of the bridge takes almost that whole first mile. Unless you are in the front of a wave, this is also about how long it will take for the crowd to start to thin down.
IT IS EXTREMELY EASY TO GO TOO FAST IN MILE TWO, AS YOU DESCEND THE BRIDGE IN A THINNING CROWD... AND THEN STAY GOING TOO FAST FOR MILES 3 AND BEYOND.
I don't use bold caps very often, so please note my use of them here. :-) The thing that CAN kill you is not going down the bridge (mile 2) too fast, but rather not slowing down when you hit the flat of Queens. There are some lumps, but the remainder of the first 15-16 miles is flat again until...guess what... the hill is a maximum at 15.8 miles is the Queensborough (59th street) bridge.
There's good news about both "hills". The first one is easy because it's mile 1 and you can't go very fast anyway. The second one is easy because it's an amazing view, and it's novel to cross this bridge, especially after 15 miles of not that objectively interesting terrain through Brooklyn and Queens. Plus, when you get down from the Queensborough, there's a huge crowd hitting you as you start to go up first avenue, so look for a big mental boost at that point for sure.
The crossings back and forth to the Bronx are not associated with hills. In fact, I have very little memory of them.
The last few miles are basically half a lap around the Central Park running path (although you exit the park and run across 59th street and then come back into it, instead of staying on the path). Be aware that it is hilly as soon as you get near the park and it is NOT an easy last few miles because of that. It isn't constant up and down, and none of the hills is devastating, but it is the hilliest part of the course, with the exception of the two bridges (and maybe Clinton around mile 8-9)...so just keep this in mind and hang tough. This may be less of an issue than it once was because it looks like they are running you longer on 5th avenue and not ducking into the park until you pass the reservoir at about 86th street, but the elevation profile does show that the mile getting to that point is uphill...just not as uppy-downy as it is in the park.
If you have a chance to run the Central Park loop in the days before the race, do it in order to scope the finish, but also because it's gorgeous.
Have fun!