2011 Cleveland Marathon plan

Now, I'm just excited for race day.

I volunteered at the Capital City Half Marathon Saturday and really got caught up in the atmosphere. I was working a water station at Mile 12 and it was really exciting to see a lot of the people I've been training with this spring come through.

My goal for Cleveland is to finish in 4:45, that's a 10:53 pace. Here's a video of the course from the Plain Dealer:




I'll post screenshots of my playlists when I get them done. I'm feeling more confident now, I ran 8 Saturday after the race and it felt really easy. This is in stark contrast to earlier in the week where every step felt like a struggle. This week the mileage is really light, 3 tomorrow, 5 Tuesday, 3 Wednesday and 2 Friday. I'm going to do as much of it as I can on the treadmill to save the legs. I'll probably still spin Tuesday but take it easy. I'll do all the runs in the older Mizunos (which still have plenty of life left) and the Zoots to keep the new ones plenty of rest.

I spent some time tonight on the Cleveland Marathon website. There's a 4:45 pacer, so I'm going to follow them for the first half, then I hope to speed up. I'm going to try to be at the 5 mile mark at 49:15, 10 miles at 1:42:40, and the half at 2:16:42. I'll bring my iPod, but won't wear it at the start. I'll wear my FuelBelt, and also run with it a few times this week to get used to it. In addition to the two 8 oz bottles the FuelBelt pockets will hold: my cell phone, 3 Gus (plus there will be two on the course), Pepto in a small baggie, and Clif shotbloks, cash and my ID (for alcohol at the finish). I really wish I didn't have to carry my cell phone but I'll need it, if anything for some serious texting once I'm at the finish line, and a call for a ride home.

And I'll have my Garmin, of course, and maybe write some of the times, splits, landmarks on my arm (or on a small piece of paper in the fuelbelt.)

I'm kind of bummed, it looks like there is not runner tracking.

I've decided to wear my white MIT shirt and compression pants. I can't decide where I'm going to pin my race bib. I want it to be visible for the photos, and I'll probably go through a throwaway layer since the race starts at 8 am.

The race starts at 7. I'm going to get there an hour to an hour and a half early so I'll have plenty of time to warm up, stretch and get acclimated.

There are water stops every 2 miles, so my plan is to stop every six. Just a quick pause, take a drink and Gu, then kick it back up. I'm really glad there will be Gu and Powerade on the course since that's what I've been training with.

I'm going to try and leave work as early as I can Friday, hopefully by 2 or 3. If I leave right from work I can get to Cleveland by six and pick up my race packet that night. If not I'll hit the expo in the morning. I have to be downtown at 8 am Saturday to watch a friend run a 5K, but then I hope to relax for the rest of the day.

This week I'm going to stick to brown rice and chicken for dinner, and chicken pasta salad for lunch. Anything high-fiber is going to stay in the cabinets.

The metals are really awesome, can't wait to hang one on my wall! And get one of those cool 26.2 stickers for the Fit!