And what's next right now: the marathon.
marathon quote of the day:
Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.
- Oprah Winfrey
I'm not looking at race strategy in my first marathon, just brain games.
While I could just run, following the course until, well, it ends, there's something reassuring to me about breaking down 26.2 miles into something... less than 1.5 days' worth of round-trip commuting for me. (See how well I can deflate myself?)
Running to five miles 5.5 times, for instance, might be easier to conquer than 4+ hours of run, run, run. Or 2.5 sets of 10-milers. Or four sets of 6.5 miles.
Do you have an approach to marathon miles? Whether it's a race look, walk-and-run method or just a miles-counting game, what do you do to run the 26.2 mental miles?
4 comments:
I'm no where near marathon distance. So far my longest run has been 4 miles. But I just saw "PaceTat" on someone blog and it looked pretty cool to manage your slits.
I run a half marathon just running, no thought really, then the next ten I visualize the 10 mile loop at the park...so now I am at 23.1...so anyone can run an easy 3.1...that is a quick 5k...no big deal. Granted I have only done 4. Akron was my favorite. I'll be there doing the half this year.
I break my marathon down in to common shorter race distances (5m, 10K, 10m & 13.1) which really helps get the first half over quickly. Then I usually take a GU at 16, then focus on 21 to get over the 20 hump. Then there is "only" 5 to go. The marathon is a total numbers game mentally. Don't mind the digital sign at EJ Thomas Hall telling you you only have 23.1 miles to go. I thought that was hilarious...um...after the fact. Good luck!
I don't know why, but I sometimes break marathons into successive "halves". The first 13 I do mindlessly. The next seven I think about as a unit I've run a lot; it's less than an hour! Then the next four are usually hard for me so I have to concentrate on form. Then the next two are just trying to stay on pace and not give into mind games. By then I can see the end and just run like hell.
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