Race Prep and Logistics
Beginning the countdown to the big race and we’ve now begun to tighten up some of the logistics and planning around the weekend.
Taper: We’re into the final week’s taper following our 10-mile run on Saturday. We had a great 30-minute run on Tuesday with five 60-second pickups thrown in to keep the legs fresh. We’ll do the same today as we’re trying to keep everything humming while recovering from the heavy mileage at the same time.
Didn’t think this would happen but I’ve got a toenail that’s going to fall off, post-race, and my ankles and knees have been a touch sore in the last week or two. I place the blame for all that on the fact that we’ve run about 65 miles in the last 15 days so I’m confident this light week will solve the problem. Legs felt good on Tuesday so I’m hopeful.
Travel: We’re doing things a little differently this year, as opposed to what we did in 2004 when we last ran Chicago. We’re heading into the Health & Fitness Expo at McCormick Place on Friday where we’ll pick up our bags, timing chips and walk around the exhibits. Then, we’ll stay at the Schaumburg Courtyard by Marriott Friday night so we can get a good kid-free night of sleep. Had read somewhere that the night before the night before the race is when you need a good night’s sleep. Kind of hard with two little kids so we’re hitting the road.
Saturday, we’ll stay off our feet almost all day and switch hotels to the Renaissance right by the Cumberland Ave. Blue Line El stop. There’s a sidewalk from the hotel that leads right up to the El stop so that will work very well. A 40-minute ride later and we’ll be downtown ready to run.
Timing: An important part of the last couple of days before a marathon is to stay on your normal routine. Eat what you’ve been eating. Don’t overhydrate. Get good sleep. On the other hand, it’s also important to acknowledge that a few things may need to be altered in the last 48 hours or so before the race simply because of travel or other things outside of your control. Two big things are eating and drinking.
Eating: Carbs are big for runners. During our training, we’ve done Pasta Fridays at our house to top off the tank before our Saturday long runs. Knowing that we’d be out of town on the two nights before the race, we settled on the Olive Garden as our pre-race meal. Ate there before the 20-miler and have been doing the same on the last two Fridays in an attempt to get our stomachs ready. It’s worked well so let’s hear it for spaghetti and meat sauce. We’ll do Olive Garden on Saturday night, if not Friday night as well.
Drinking: Forecast right now for race day, subject to change of course, is for temps in the 80s by mid-day so we’re watching that closely. However, without the summertime humidity present, I’m not that concerned. We’ve been hydrating normally and plan to do so through the rest of the week and into the weekend.
Been some interesting research done in the last several years on hyponatremia, which is a serious medical condition brought on by over-hydrating. Happens to a lot of distance runners who attempt to pound the water in the days before a race, and often during the race, and then end up washing out all of the electrolytes from their body and end up with problems.
Three days to go and it seems to be coming together. . .
Taper: We’re into the final week’s taper following our 10-mile run on Saturday. We had a great 30-minute run on Tuesday with five 60-second pickups thrown in to keep the legs fresh. We’ll do the same today as we’re trying to keep everything humming while recovering from the heavy mileage at the same time.
Didn’t think this would happen but I’ve got a toenail that’s going to fall off, post-race, and my ankles and knees have been a touch sore in the last week or two. I place the blame for all that on the fact that we’ve run about 65 miles in the last 15 days so I’m confident this light week will solve the problem. Legs felt good on Tuesday so I’m hopeful.
Travel: We’re doing things a little differently this year, as opposed to what we did in 2004 when we last ran Chicago. We’re heading into the Health & Fitness Expo at McCormick Place on Friday where we’ll pick up our bags, timing chips and walk around the exhibits. Then, we’ll stay at the Schaumburg Courtyard by Marriott Friday night so we can get a good kid-free night of sleep. Had read somewhere that the night before the night before the race is when you need a good night’s sleep. Kind of hard with two little kids so we’re hitting the road.
Saturday, we’ll stay off our feet almost all day and switch hotels to the Renaissance right by the Cumberland Ave. Blue Line El stop. There’s a sidewalk from the hotel that leads right up to the El stop so that will work very well. A 40-minute ride later and we’ll be downtown ready to run.
Timing: An important part of the last couple of days before a marathon is to stay on your normal routine. Eat what you’ve been eating. Don’t overhydrate. Get good sleep. On the other hand, it’s also important to acknowledge that a few things may need to be altered in the last 48 hours or so before the race simply because of travel or other things outside of your control. Two big things are eating and drinking.
Eating: Carbs are big for runners. During our training, we’ve done Pasta Fridays at our house to top off the tank before our Saturday long runs. Knowing that we’d be out of town on the two nights before the race, we settled on the Olive Garden as our pre-race meal. Ate there before the 20-miler and have been doing the same on the last two Fridays in an attempt to get our stomachs ready. It’s worked well so let’s hear it for spaghetti and meat sauce. We’ll do Olive Garden on Saturday night, if not Friday night as well.
Drinking: Forecast right now for race day, subject to change of course, is for temps in the 80s by mid-day so we’re watching that closely. However, without the summertime humidity present, I’m not that concerned. We’ve been hydrating normally and plan to do so through the rest of the week and into the weekend.
Been some interesting research done in the last several years on hyponatremia, which is a serious medical condition brought on by over-hydrating. Happens to a lot of distance runners who attempt to pound the water in the days before a race, and often during the race, and then end up washing out all of the electrolytes from their body and end up with problems.
Three days to go and it seems to be coming together. . .
posted by W.S. Wuori at 9:39 AM
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