4 Days to Go: Racing Strategy

Continuing the theme from yesterday, I'll go into my racing strategy for Sunday.  If there's one thing I learned last year is that it's the smart runner who succeeds in the marathon.  Even the best trained runner can crash and burn if they go out too fast or attack hills like a dog and a laser beam.  A while back, I came across a post on the Runner's World forums where some guy went through a fairly detailed explanation of "How to Have a Great Twin Cities Marathon".  It's actually quite a great piece to read if you're running on Sunday—you'll need to scroll down a bit to get to the post.  In reading this post, I've internalized some of the tips and strategies and they will hopefully make things go much more smoothly this year.

• Don't go out too fast.  I know, I know, I know.  This caused me problems last year, and this may be the single most important thing I need to do on Sunday.  My goal time is 3:45, so, I'm going to start at the 4:00 pace group.  Putting myself there will help remove the temptation to keep up with faster pace groups, and because even the pace groups go out too fast, going with the 4 hour people will help me keep my first mile pace near 8'50".  I will also make sure that I'm not passing people and weaving through the crowd.  Bottom line—Mile 1 should feel SLOW.  Really slow.  If I feel ok, I'm going too fast.  Even if Mile 1 ends up at 9'15", that's ok because I'll be able to make it up later.
• Pacing.  I'm going to make a pace band for myself based on the ones available on the TCIM Website.  They don't have one for 3:45, so I'll modify the 3:40 one.  Basically, these pace charts are designed for the course and take the hills into account.  I probably won't follow it to the letter, but it can help me pick an overall pace trend even if my judgment is a bit cloudy.
• Early Miles—Take it Easy.  Continuing the theme from Mile 1, I need to keep the slow pace.  I can't worry about passing people until at least Lake Calhoun because it's just so crowded until then.  I'm not going to expend any extra energy at this point just to pass people.
• Middle Miles—Settle Into My Pace.  I'll probably be somewhere near target pace along Minnehaha Parkway.
• Run the Tangents.  This becomes very important once the crowds thin out near Lake Harriet/Minnehaha Parkway.  A marathon course is 26.2 IF you follow the shortest path—running the tangents.  Sticking to the center of the road can mean you run 26.5 miles, which can be the difference between 3:44:59 and 3:45:59.  So, I'll be swerving a lot to make sure I hit as many tangents as possible.
• Take the Hills EASY.  I love hills.  I love attacking hills in a cross country race because it usually leaves my opponents in the dust.  But I can't do that this Sunday.  Lately, I've been focusing on keeping my effort constant going up hills and letting my speed drop.  I'll continue that, and not overcook the hills.  When I get to the big hill near St. Thomas, I'll be fine because that's MY hill.  I do all my hill repeats there, so I own that hill.
• Summit is a 5 Mile RACE.  Another place that I own is Summit Avenue.  I didn't get to take advantage of this fact last year because of my quad, but since I'll be racing better this year, I get to conquer Summit with all my might.  My focus will be on reeling people in and passing them one at a time.  I know that the course is net downhill beyond Snelling, so I can gain some extra speed there.  This part of the course is ALL mental, so if I trust my training, and want that 3:45 bad enough, I'll do well here.
• Roll Down the Last Hill.  It's a very downhill finish, and I've always said that one could stop at the cathedral, lay down, roll, and cross the finish line.  Ok, I won't actually do this, but it will look pretty tempting on Sunday…
• Finish Strong.  Last year, I had a strange walk/run/limp going on in the last 800 meters.  This year, if you're in front of me beyond the Cathedral, expect to get passed.

I'm not really assigning specific numbers/paces to the miles because that can hinder me more than help me.  I've made a lot of progress this year on being able to listen to my body and pacing myself accurately, so I think I'll be able to do most of the race by feel as long as I keep the above points in mind.  I'll still have a pace band with me because I won't be able to do the math on the fly, so it helps to have a reminder.

Come back tomorrow for all the information you need to know about being a spectator on Sunday.