Am I ready for my goal marathon?
It has never ceased to surprise me how emotionally wrapped people get at the end of a training cycle when the race itself is in reach. By the time they get to the end of a training cycle they are so emotionally invested in the process that they become totally beholden to the plan. They essentially lose themselves in the training plan.
The way it manifests is that late in the training plan a workout goes badly. Maybe it’s a long run they can’t finish. Maybe it’s a workout that just didn’t feel good. Maybe it’s a small pain of some sort or the threat of a cold.
The coach or whoever will lsten gets the call or the email that is dripping with desperation. “I couldn’t finish this workout, does that mean I won’t be able to meet my race goal?”
Let me ruin the surprise for you. No, it doesn’t have any bearing on your ability to race. You’ll be fine. Relax. Focus on your taper and your race execution strategy. Chill the heck out!
One or two bad workouts at the end of a long and difficult training cycle don’t mean anything, except that you’re probably pretty tired. Your body has hung in there through the long weeks of miles and effort. Now, in the final weeks it is getting a little weary.
That’s perfectly ok and perfectly normal. That’s what your taper is for. The taper is your body’s opportunity to bounce back and gather strength for the battle.
Most training plans for a distance race will be 14 – 20 weeks long. If you make it through to the final weeks and consistently do the work the last couple weeks aren’t going to make a difference one way or the other. If you’re less than 4 weeks out from your race you’ve already done 90% the work and gotten 90% of the benefit – if not more.
As my coach always tells me, “The hay is in the barn.” Nothing left to do but relax. Those last couple weeks don’t matter that much and even if they did there is nothing you can do about it.
The absolutely worst thing that you can do is to try to make up for the bad workouts by cramming in some more. More distance and intensity is not what you need at this point. Don’t do it. Back off. Relax. Taper. Chill.
Let me tell you a couple stories.
In my late 20’s when I was first getting back into running my Mom told me about a new race that year. It was the inaugural Groton 10K. I set what I thought was a reasonable goal of running it in sub-8 minute miles and created a plan to get there. (This was way before I really knew how to train)
The culminating workout was going to be a test-run of the course the weekend before.
On that day I was coming off a redeye from California and I went down to run the course. It was awful. I couldn’t hold my pace. I ended up walking in places. My goal seemed very far out of reach.
For the rest of the week leading up to the race I was in a foul mood. I was grumpy and mean to everyone. Inside my head I was super scared and angry that this last workout hsowed that I didn’t have what it took to run my race or meet my goal.
You see what’s coming, don’t you? When I got into the race everything went great and I easily beat my goal time. Why? Because I had trained for it and that last workout had nothing to do with my ability to run that race.
A few years later when I had actually learned how to train I was in Dallas on a business trip. I was kicking off my training program to requalify for Boston. It was the first or second week of my plan. I had taken a few months off after my last race.
I looked at the satellite map and found a running track a couple miles from the hotel. I figured I’d run over there and do some speed work in the afternoon.
Again, with the jetlag and the heat it was awful. I could hold the paces or do the work. I had to walk away from the speed work limp back. Did that workout have any meaning in the training cycle? No. I ran a couple days later when I got home on a cool day and crushed my workout.
Did it have any impact on my end goal? Not in the negative sense. It actually helped me to put in context the fact that you will have both good and bad workouts. It’s not really the workout that matters but how you bounce back from them and how you mentally manage them.
When you finally show up for the race, even if you have had a few bad workouts, even late in the cycle there is this thing that happens called the marathon miracle. It’s when your body forgets everything else and is in the moment. Don’t underestimate the marathon miracle.
When these workouts go badly late in a training cycle it has a larger negative mental impact than it should. You’re looking for an exclamation point to put on your training to carry you with positive momentum into your taper. Instead you get an “Oh crap.” Feeling and start to worry.
It’s the uncertainty. You counted on that positive ending and you didn’t get it so now you have uncertainty and fear. Your initial reaction is that there is something that needs to be fixed and you want to do something to fix it.
Resist that temptation to do something more or something different. This is not the time to mix in some workout you’ve never done before in your training. It may seem hard but you have to stay the course and not overreact.
There is nothing you can do about those bad workouts. It’s too late to worry about them so instead focus your energy at the task at hand. Focus on your taper.
The taper is a great time to gather your physical and mental energy. Not only are you reducing the volume of your training drastically to let your body recover you should also be dialing in your nutrition and your stretching. Use the reduction in volume as an opportunity to get healthy, energized and flexible.
The taper is even more of a great opportunity to get your mental game in order. Practice sitting quietly and visualizing the race and how you expect it to go. Focus on those moments if truth. There are common moments of truth to all races and some specific to the race you’re running.
What are some of the common moments of truth? The beginning of the race is a moment of truth. You’ll be excited and jacked up at the start of the race. Visualize how you will be calm and relaxed and serene at the start. Visualize how you will be in control and filled with the strength of your training.
When the race starts you might be boxed in, crowded and jostled. It will be hard to get on pace. Visualize yourself not getting freaked out by the crowd, but instead taking your time and finding your way in a controlled and intelligent way to your pace.
In the start of the race, because of the adrenaline you may be tempted to run too fast because it feels easy. Visualize yourself breathing calmly and staying on your planned pace with control and discipline.
Then, probably the biggest moment of truth is when you get in to the high miles and things get hard. You will be physically and mentally at your weakest. You will be tempted to give up.
Visualize how you will react when this hard part comes. Create a movie in your head and replay it throughout your training and taper of how, when that moment of truth comes, you are going to smile and relax into the discomfort and run as strong as you ever have.
A couple bad workouts, especially late in the training cycle have no bearing on your race. If you have done the training the race is yours to run. Choose to run it well. Decide to run it well and get your mind and body focused around that mission.