San Francisco Race Plan

Amy, Chuck, Rick - I distilled down some stuff I had written before that you might find helpful. Some of these things may seem silly, or like overkill. But hey, you’ve spent a lot of time and energy in some nasty Texas (or Colorado) heat, all so you can go to San Francisco and run over 13 miles. You've gotten your body to this point - going into this week and this race under-prepared and ill-thought-through should be out of the question. Now, it's all about taking responsibility for your performance on Sunday.

Preparing this week:

Get familiar with the course
This is critical. You've all seen how much better runs go in familiar territory. The course is your canvas for the day - get to know it. Go to the race website and print out several copies of the map. Put one in your car, one on your desk at work, one on the nightstand, or on the fridge.

Drive the course. Hard to do, since this is in another city, but you need to not be on your feet too much Saturday anyway, so if you have a car, drive the course. I even tend to stop at the bottom of hills, get out, and walk or jog up them, so I know in my head what it feels like. When you near the top, think about how it's going to be to beat it and not let it wear you down.

Break the course into manageable chunks of two to three miles each. Getting through each chunk will be an accomplishment, and it’s easier than going at all 13 miles at once. After driving the course, pick up one of those maps every now and then, and every now and then, run the race in your head (at high speed - please don't sit at work staring at a map for three hours). Run chunks of it in your head. Feel the rhythm of the stretches that will require more effort, and the ones where you'll be able to recover. I promise you this will be a huge benefit to you.

Plan to chow. Part of knowing the course is knowing when you'll take your nutrition. What I do is work backwards - I want my last Gu 3 miles out from the finish, and I want them every 30-40 minutes. Water stops are at every even-numbered mile. So, I know I'll Gu at miles 10 and 6. Figure out how many you'll need, and go buy them now - RunTex sells out of everything but "Your Nephew's Dirty Diaper" flavored gel before races. You can also get gels at bike shops, REI, and Academy. You also need to know how you're going to carry what you need to carry.

Have your outfit ready. Now.

You've all run in a variety of conditions. You’re fortunate running in the realtively stable weather of San Fran. Go to Weather Underground and check out the detailed Sunday forecast. Right now, we’re looking at 57 degrees, with 91% humidity, at 5:00 am. It may sound chilly, but it’s ideal - don’t dress too warm. If you want, take a long sleeve shirt you can ditch quickly. Find those pieces, lay them out now.

You should know by now what you like. Now is also not the time to try new shorts, socks, jogbras, or some shirts. That's a recipe for unforeseen chafing and discomfort.

In case of rain, have something disposable, or a trash bag with holes for the arms and head. It's nice to be dry while standing around at the start line, then you can rip it off when you get moving.

Got Bodyglide? Bandaids? You can get them at the expo, but try to minimize all that shopping atnd running around. Have them now.

Flying:
Take your shoes in your carry-on. I’ve heard from plenty of people who arrived, but their bags didn’t. I also know a few people who forgot their shoes, and none of them are idiots. It happens. you’re less likely to forget if you have them in your carry-on.

If you’re carrying gels, remember the on-board fluid limits. I seem to remember that I was lucky to have smuggled my Gu on the plane to Chicago... Huh, huh... Gu smuggler...

Thursday and Friday:
Hydrate. Get a couple of liters of water in you a day, depending on your size. Use some ElectroMix or something similar - available at Central Market, Whole Foods, RunTex, or bike shops.

Friday night:
This is actually your best night to get your carbs. Have a reasonable-sized plate of pasta, not too late in the evening. And get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Saturday:
Stay off your feet. This is not the time for a hike, lawn work, walking at the race expo for four hours like I did in Chicago trying to decide if I should buy and wear new clothes for the marathon when I know not to do that (I didn't). See a movie, drive the course.

Eat dinner early. The race is at 5:30am (you people are idiots). I’d try to start eating dinner by 5:00 or 5:30, and be done by 7:00. Why? Because you want to be able to sleep, and you want the food to digest, so that it'll be usable in the race, but yet not filling up your lower intestines demanding immediate release at mile five. Having to pee is fairly common, but you do not want to have to go #2, losing time while your legs cramp up in a nasty porta-potty. And if you try to hold it, your core will tighten up, expending more energy and messing with your mechanics.

At the expo, don’t screw around too much, but do try to talk to whoever is leading your pace group. Check the expo schedule for when they’ll be on-site. You want to know how they’re approaching the pacing - are they accounting for variations in the course, or trying to run a flat pace?

Don't drink too late - Water or anything else. You want to be able to sleep without getting up constantly through the night.

Get everything together Saturday night, not in the morning:

• Pin your bib to your shirt or shorts. If you are slightly OCD like some coaches you and I know, this could take you half an hour to get it perfectly straight. It has to be straight. It has to be straight. It has to... you get the idea.
• Put your gels, electrolyte capsules, whatever you're taking on the course, in whatever you're taking them in.
• Pack your drop bag with your pre and post-race stuff.
• Make sure you have what you need for breakfast.
  

Figure out your morning schedule - work it backwards.

The race is at 5:30 am. Me, I’d want to be on-site at 4:45. There’s nothing wrong with 4:30. 5:00 am is right-out. God, really, you people are crazy...

Calculate how long you need to get to the race, subtract that back from 4:45. Maybe it'll take you 15 minutes to get there, so you need to leave your place at 4:30. Jesus.

You want to use the restroom (#2) before you leave. Give yourself time (because you never know) - so, on the pot by 4:15.

You need to allow at least an hour for your breakfast to digest, so you need to be eating at 3:15.

So, set your five different alarms for 3:15, and eat immediately.

Set multiple alarms. Get a friend to call you. Leave nothing to chance.

Race Day
Race morning:
Get the hell up! No snooze button. This is when being nervous is a good thing, because it'll wake you up.

Eat first, and have a glass of water, and coffee, if you need it. You want carbs - a bagel with some cream cheese, or some oatmeal. Presumably, you've figured out by now what works for you...

If you've done things right, you have an hour to check the weather, put on your laid-out clothes, make sure your bib number really is straight, and relax. And, of course, poop.

At the race:
DO NOT BE LATE. Period. Non-neogtiable, no excuses. You need to park, pick up your chip, drop your bag, not be overly frazzled, and be ready a good 40-45 minutes before the start. With so many runners, it often takes a while to get staged properly for the start.

Don't guzzle water. If you've hydrated well, and had some when you got up, you'll be fine with what you get on the course. Drink too much, and you'll have to pee.

Still, hit the porta-potty about 30 minutes before the race.

A warm-up wouldn't kill you. Start at about 4:50. Running through the basic drills will help loosen you up, and then running for 10-15 minutes at a slow, easy pace will get you warm. It’s a long race, and some people look at their first miles as your warm-up, but why waste those miles feeling tight, crappy and slow?

Be in place at the start line by 5:20. Find your friends. Then... relax. Soak up this moment. Look around at all the people that are about to do something pretty cool. You're one of them. You're probably also better trained and better prepared than most.

Running the race...
I’ve talked to Amy about pace. If you have questions about yours, email me. Try to run the first mile 10-20 seconds slower

Run your own race. Ignore people passing you. Some won't finish, you'll pass some of them back up if you're smart, and hey, everyone but one person is going to have at least one faster person out there. Run your own race.

Use the pace groups as a guide. The pace group leaders are not robots, and neither are you. Just use the pace groups as very general reference points. Don’t press yourself too hard to keep up with the group, and don’t pass them up too early in the race. You can just stay with them, or keep them in sight. When you run your first mile a little slower, just focus on keeping your group in sight.

Drink water. If it's cool out, cold water doesn't always seem appealing, but you need it. People get dehydrated in cooler races because they're cold and don't drink as much water as they usually would. Take it, drink it.

Run the crown of the road. If the roads have a lot of camber, run the center stripe.

Do what you have to do, as soon as possible. Gotta pee? Pee. The first mile or two of the course will be lined with people facing bushes. Might be gross and unseemly, but you're there to run a race. Got a rock in your shoe? Get it out right then. It’s worth the time.

Be patient. If you're running with someone, and you get separated, be prepared to be alone for a while. DO NOT try to speed up to catch them. If you do decide to catch them, give yourself a long time to do it. Decide you'll get to them near the finish. It may be worth it to wait for each other early on in the race - it’s a judgment call.

You're going to have rough spots, unless you're a freak and/or you're running waaaaayyy too slow. When you have a rough spot, focus on your form - keep your head up, shoulders back. You may be tired, but slumping makes things worse. You get less air, and it will turn your stride into a shuffle. Think about all the time and effort and will you've spent training. You've had tough runs, and gotten through them. Get through it now. Don't trade away a few minutes, or even an hour, of pain for regret that'll last until you get a chance to run again.

Break the race into manageable chunks. Don't bite off 13.1 miles, run two or three miles at a time. Think about these chunks when you familiarize yourself with the course.

If it’s windy, use the crowd to draft. Tuck in behind a group of runners, or even if the wind is from the side, get on the leeward side. Even one runner can cut the wind from you (just make sure they’re not breaking the wind! HA! Anyway. Seriously, don’t do more work than you have to – be smart.

Help out your fellow runners. You’re going to see people having a hard time – give them a word of encouragement. It’ll help you feel better, and it comes back to you.

Thank the cops and course support. They’re up at an absurd hour so you can do this. Say “thanks” to volunteers, wave at the officers.

The Big Finish.

At mile 9 or 10, I think you can start reassessing your pace. If you’ve held pace well, and feel like you have a lot more left in the tank, here's where you can decide whether to turn it up or not. If you do increase pace, do it gradually. Don't go from 11:30 per mile to 11:00 unless you are darned sure you can hold that for 3 miles. The best plan is to try to pick up 5-10 seconds in the next couple of miles, with the option to crank it up a little more in the last mile or two.

In the last mile, feel it. Regardless of what's happened so far, it's going to be over soon. That last mile is all yours, and you are in control of how you end the race. Think of the finish line, and the crowds cheering, and your friends and family that'll be there, proud of what you've accomplished. Start picking out people a reasonable distance ahead of you, and reel them in, one by one, all the way to the finish.

Run all the way through the finish. Do not let up at all until you've crossed both finish mats. Steve Jones, former record holder in the full, and I think the half-marathon, said, “If I’m still satanding at the end of a race, hit me with a board, because I didn’t run hard enough.”

Final thoughts...

Reflect this week on how hard you’ve trained, and how far you come. Think about why you started doing this in the first place, and think about how that may have changed – what drives you now?

A prominent local coach says about the marathon, and I think it holds true for the half, as well, that whether it’s the first time you cross the finish line, or the fiftieth, you won’t be the same person that started the race. This is not a cold experiment or demonstration. It’s about choices and sacrifice. There will be points in this race where you will be faced with choices. I’m hurting, do I lower the pace? Do I push the pace? Do I walk on this hill? Do I stop? Is this important enough to me to hurt just a little more?

Some of those choices are strategic, tests of your maturity and intellect. But the important ones, the meaningful ones, are tests of your courage and your will. That’s what makes this sport so great – when you line up at the start on any given day, you are putting yourself in a situation to be faced with those choices, and you get to decide who you are, and who you are going to be, on that given day.

You guys that are going have trained on your own, and should be entirely proud of that, regardless of what happens Sunday. I have seen you all persevere and push yourselves. you’ve embraced the ethic that “the will to perform is nothing without the will to prepare.” Now, turn that same will to this race, and make the choices, and be who you want to be.

If you have any questions, concerns, or just want to talk, email or call me.

Good luck!