The weekend takes me to Gretna for a wedding, then to the Lakes. The wedding part involves trying not to drink too much, and the Lakes part means trying not to feel to grumpy as it's such a beautiful day to be out on the fells, and I'm not! Now it could be said that running, and online diaries, are two of the most self-centred things it's possible to do, and that's probably true. There's nothing wrong with that, and of course it doesn't mean that someone that does either, or both, spends the rest of their life being up themselves too - so please forgive me if I don't write at any length about the happy couple, or the lovely time we had at Derwent Water - this is about running, and furthermore it's mostly about me running, selfish git that I am.
Anyway, it's now Sunday evening. There are five full days to go. I can't train any more, I can only prepare mentally and stave off frustration.
I'll let you into a secret. I'm rubbish at this mental preparation bit. I put things off, you see. My wife is always telling me that, and she's right. I'm afraid I'm going to carry on putting some things off, but I will make myself do this preparation bit for the race by writing it down here.
My usual trick is to break long runs or walks up into bits, and then imagine them being easier than they really are. This seems like a good idea, but I usually get a nasty surprise somewhere along the actual route as I've mentally obliterated some of the nasty bits. For example, I ran two mile 21s at the Windermere marathon (having forgotten I'd not done mile 20 yet the first time), I think the Corridor Route to Scafell is flat, and that it's not really uphill to Tryfan from the bottom of Bristly Ridge. This can be a bit discouraging.
So this time, I'm going to confront my demons, and properly examine the race. Let's do the demons first:
Q: What if I wake up on race day tired, feeling ill, with a nagging pain in my calf, and no desire to go out running? A: I will. I always do. It's nothing to worry about.
Q: Isn't running 26.2 miles on this course, about 45 minutes quicker than I ran it last year, going to feel really, really hard? A: Yes. Your choice, idiot.
Q: What if the weather's awful? A: You'll still have to run. Deal with it.
Q: What if my leg falls off/I collapse/I'm kidnapped by the Gwynedd Separatist Movement? A: We'll cross that bridge...
Q: What if things don't go as well as I'd planned? A: They already haven't, so what's the chance of a perfect race, and if it happened, wouldn't it be just a bit unexciting?
OK so that's those bits and pieces dealt with - now then, the course. I reckon the course naturally breaks down into five sections: 1 -the first 3.5 miles to Pen y Pass (uphill); 2 - the next 8.5 to Beddgelert (quick descent for 4, the rest flattish); 3 -the next 9 to Waunfawr (2 gently uphill, the rest undulating); 4 -the big climb and sharp descent over Bwlch y Ty Groes (4 miles); 5-the last mile and a bit to the finish.
Let's deal with them all, night by night. The first 3.5 miles is all about Getting Into the Groove. The first mile is flattish, but it is the first mile, and I never like to start a long trip too fast. There's then an 800' climb in about 2.5 miles - all on tarmac of course, and hardly at a taxing gradient, but it's still early on and it is still up. I don't really want to arrive at Pen y Pass needing that descent, I want to get there wanting it.
So, I'm going to line up near the front - don't want to lose too much gun time in reaching the start, but I'll have to be prepared to let a lot go past in that first easy mile and keep and eye on the watch - after that it's going to be about remembering to drop the gears and hold back - this isn't a climb to make up places on! Hopefully all will be well by the time I reach the first water station and I'll be able to move on to the next part completely in control.
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