Gabe's St George Marathon Race Plan

Gabe Peterson

Race Plan: St George Marathon

Goals

My main goal this year has been to maximize my run.  It has been the sport where I’ve had the most improvement since getting into triathlons three years ago.  That is probably due to me running consistently for over twenty years and building run durability.  I didn’t run fast but put in a lot of miles, even when my weight broke a deuce (200 lbs).  I started out in EN last May with a VDOT of around 37-38 and entered this season at 42.  Based on my race performance at Porter’s Half Marathon in July, my VDOT is 47.  By the VDOT tables, this translates to a 3:21 marathon.  Porter's has similar elevation profile to St George, but it was a hot day with the race starting at low-70s and finishing at mid-80s.  St George will be much cooler.  Therefore, I feel pretty confident that I can run within 5 minutes of 3:21.

With the move to Utah this year, I had to be time efficient this year.  Running is hands down the biggest bang-for-your-buck of SBR.  I’ve certainly appreciated the extra time with the family this summer and feel like I've maintained a high level of fitness – on less than 8 hours of training per week!  You can read all about my running adventures leading in the race here.

My goals and level of stoked-ness are:

Goal	Stoked-ness
Sub-3:30	Happy because this would be a huge PR
Low-3:20s	Racing to my VDOT potential
Sub-3:15	A perfect day!

 

Pre-Race

Thursday

·         Begin carb loading by tracking calories and carb consumption in MyFitnessPal.  Target a minimum of 500g carbs.  Pack carb sources including bagels, fruit, and Gatorade.  Take in carbs every hour.

·         Leave SLC by 3PM. 

·         Arrive in St George by 7PM and check-in to hotel. 

Friday

·         Drink sports drink throughout the day to carb load and stay hydrated.

·         Do early shakedown run on the last mile of the run course so I can visualize the finish.

·         Drive the entire run course.  I’ve ridden part of it for the St George 70.3 but haven’t been above Snow Canyon.

·         Go to the expo and check-in.  Avoid lingering around all the nervous runners.

·         At night, layout gear for the morning (below). 

·         If the weather is going to be above 70F, then I'll wear my running vest (below).  The aid stations are every 2 miles.  It was the same spread at Porter's, and I was dehydrated in the last couple of miles in the heat.

Running Gear

·         Hoka Clifton 2 running shoes and socks

·         Running visor.  I like wearing my IMAZ visor because it gets lots of shout-outs from spectators: "You got this Ironman!"

·         Running sunglasses

·         Aftershokz headphones

·         Northface Better Than Naked shorts

·         Salomon running jersey with zipper for ventilation (load 4 gels in pockets if not wearing vest)

·         Bib number pinned to shirt

Running Vest

·         4 Gu Salted Caramels in front pockets

·         2 soft flasks with 10oz of Gatorade Endurance each

·         S-tab tabs in right zipper pocket

·         Arm warmers and gloves in back pocket

·         Phone in left zipper pocket with music playlist ready to go

 

Race Morning

·         Wake up at 4:00AM

·         Eat cereal + coffee up

·         Take 2 shots of Beet Elite

·         Apply 2 layers of sunscreen

·         Depart by 4:30AM to catch bus to race start

·         Drink Gatorade on bus ride

·         Arrive at race start by 5:30AM

·         Huddle near fire to stay warm

·         Put morning clothes in drop bag about 15 minutes before start

·         Vega pre-workout supplement 15 minutes before start to get pumped up

 

Race: It's on like Donkey Kong!

Target time: 3:21

VDOT: 47

Target TSS: 200

Target pace: 7:40/mi

Strategy

St George descends almost 2700 ft over the course of the race (see image below).  However, almost 2000 ft comes at the back half.  It even has a gentle climb from about miles 7 to 11.  If I go too hard the first half, my legs might not be able to handle the hammering the second half, missing an opportunity for free speed.  Additionally, we'll start getting more and more oxygen as we descend.  I should get an extra boost since I've been training at around 4800 ft.  This course is built for a negative split. 

My goal is to keep getting faster until I hit the wall.  Hopefully, it doesn't roll up until at least mile 24.  Then I'll break out my one thing and use sheer force of will to keep my legs churning. 

Pace Targets

Miles	Pace Target	HR Target	Notes
0-3	8:00/mi descending to 7:45/mi	Easy Z2	Start at easy pace and slowly build about 5-10 sec/mi speed
3-13	7:40/mi	High Z2	Keep steady pace in high Z2 HR, don't blow up on the slight climb from miles 7-11
13-20	7:30	Low Z3	Keep legs churning down the long descent
20-26.2	Best pace	Z4	Run like I'm being chased by a dinosaur!

 

Nutrition Plan

Target: Consumer about 200 calories per hour.

Nutrition	Frequency	Calories / hour	Total calories
2-3ozof Perform from aid station or running vest	Every 1-2 mile	100	350
Gugel with caffeine to stay alert	Every 5-6 miles	100	400
Take water as need.Dump water on head if hot.	As needed	0	0
S-tab salt pills.Take one if visor is soaked with sweat.	As needed	0	0

 

"Perfect Day" Plan

My VDOT puts me tantalizingly close to the Boston qualifying time of 3:15 for M40-44.  Of course, I'd have to run about 3:13:30 to have a realistic chance at registering – the cutoff was 3:13:58 last year. 

On a downhill course in cool weather, a perfect day is possible.  Not likely, but possible.  I'm including the below splits so I can memorize them.  If I forget, I'll have the average pace on my Garmin Fenix 3 and would have to hit a 7:23/mi pace.

Mile Split	Time
6	45
10	1:14
13	1:37
18	2:13
20	2:28
22	2:42
24	2:57
26	3:12
26.21875	3:13:30

 

Questions

• Would it be Fred to wear my race belt?  I don't see many at running races.  I like being able to shift the bib number behind me.  I pinned it to my shirt for Porter's half mary but didn't like it.  Runners don't seem as hung up on "rules" as swimmers and cyclists.
• Pros and cons of wearing my running vest?  It's the Salomon S-Lab Sense Ultra.  I've done all my long runs wearing it.  I find it much more comfortable than my old FuelBelt.  It has a bunch of storage and can carry up to 1L of liquid, which I can easily drink without breaking stride.
• How much effect does grade have on pace?  The last half of St George is approximately a 2.9% down grade.  My experience is that each 1% of grade corresponds to about 10sec/mi of “free speed.”

Al Truscott

Specific to your questions:

• Number belt. I always wear mine in running races. You;re there to perform, not look good or seek favor from the crowd. Do what you;re comfortable with.
• Running vest: I have a thing about carrying excess baggage during races, so I have a bias. Last marathon I did, I carried a 5 oz flask of gel in my hand, and nothing else. If the aid stations are farther apart, I just load up a bit more at each one with fluids. But if you've used this system in all your long runs, probably better not to mess with it?
• Grade: Running on rail trails of 1-2%, I've found at least 20-30 sec/mile difference. 3% downhill is an ideal grade for gathering speed - not so steep that it will impact your quads, but steep enough your strides will be a LOT longer. Fly down the hill, especially the last 3-4 miles. Use HR as a whip to keep your effort up on the downhill portion.

Clark Mitchell

Sounds like a strong plan Gabe.

I carried my own nutrition for my first two marathons and I don't expect I will do that again. Running vest or not, fuel for 26 miles is a lot of unnecessary weight. Unless you have GI issues with the course offered options, I recommend using what they provide and traveling as light as possible.

Good luck with whatever approach you choose. You are well prepared, now go out there and have some fun.

John Bayone

Good Luck,
The course profile looks really interesting. I like that section from Mile 7 to maybe 12 or 14, I would like to see how people that go out to hard the first downhill section are doing at that point. Looks like an great area to focus on the effort, the pace, your form, and how you are holding up for the long down hill the second half.

My 2 cents, leave the vest.
I have a SPIbelt, with the accessory things to hold the race number, and in that little pocket I can fit 4 gels and there are elastic things to fit a couple more along the belt if necessary.
Open Marathon race day....keep it as simple as possible.

Best of luck.

Gabe Peterson

@Al, thanks for the great advice as always!  

I'll go with my race belt.  It has a pocket for storage and loops for gels, so I could probably go without the running vest and still have plenty of storage.  

The weather forecast looks like it will be unseasonably warm this year.  It will be in the low 50s at the start and mid-70s at the finish.  Looking the athlete's guide in greater detail, there are aid stations every mile the last 6 miles.  I can probably forgo my running vest and take extra time at the aid station to hydrate if needed.  I'll probably only wear the vest if it is predicted to be a real scorcher.

I like the recommendation of using HR as a whip on the downhill!  

@Clark, the race has Gatorade Endurance, which I've been training with so there should be no GI issues.  I'll stick Gu Salted Caramel in my pockets because they have something else that I haven't trained with.

@John, agreed, I'm expecting runners to pass me like I am going backwards the first 7 miles.  At Porter's Half Marathon, which also started with a downhill, about 50 runners went sprinting past me the first mile.  It took a lot of discipline to just run my race.  I reeled most of them in as they ran out of steam the second half.  I expect the uphill from miles 7-11 is where a lot of runners will blow up and I'll start reeling them in.