Lessons Learned: NERRC 25K Tune-Up

Timing: For once, I was on time. Early, even. And that was excellent. A little thing, but it is nice to have time to wander and stretch, get my head together rather than worry. My usual M.O. – bad estimating the night before, leaving a bare minimum of time day of. But my success this weekend had a lot to do with my new discovery – Melotonin. More on that in a later post…likely requires a spotlight of its own.

Private stuff: Thank god for clean and warm public rest rooms. Nuff said.

Sherpas: I rarely have to do a long distance or big race without Mighty M and yesterday, I missed my sherpa. Where do I put my car key? What do I do with the tee-shirt? No camera? I was getting creative there for a little while and must acknowledge how much he does for me in those last 20 minutes before a race. He can’t be at them all, but he is definitely missed when he’s not there. Love ya, babe.

Nutrition/hydration: On a scale of 1-10, yesterday was about a 6. Needs important tweaking before the marathon, but I made it through. Here’s how it worked out.

Pre-Race

• One yogurt drink (90 calories) -- this settles my stomach and seems to help me digest a lot of the other…um…yucky race food.
• One Go Lean bar (290 calories) -- hard to chew, but really digestible – starting to really love these
• One 20 oz Wawa coffee -- um…duh
• One Pepsid Complete -- the race day I forget this, is one very unhappy race day
• One sports bottle water

Race

• Mile 5: One GU (110 calories)
• Mile 9: One GU (110 calories)
• Drinking: only water, only at stations (5 stations)

Obviously, there are some serious holes. I finished, but it could have been better. Lesson Learned? Bring own hydration. I hate to hang out at the stations and the GU made me all cottoned mouthed while running. (Or maybe that was all the yammering I was doing on the run.) Regardless, it’s worth having a small suitcase bouncing around on my bottom and looking like a mom-jeans-wearing-gear-freak, so that I can drink at will.

Lesson Learned? Don’t forget to “eat.” I had a third GU for the 12^th mile. I still have that third GU for the 12^th mile. At home, in my race food box. Not doin’ much good there.

Clothes: I have Mighty M to thank for this one. The morning was f-r-o-s-t-y, but the run was going to be long. He suggested a thin short sleeved tech shirt and a long sleeved cycling jersey over it. Right. On. Not only just right for temp, but also gave me the pockets I needed to carry nutrition. Excellent choice. Lesson Learned? Pockets good.

Pacing: I usually run alone. In fact, about 95% of the time it’s just me. But hooking up with Scott, and later Rick, yesterday made a huge difference in my pacing. I know I would not have pushed so hard on my own. It wasn’t so fast that I tapped early, but juuuuust right. Lesson Learned? Pacing partners are good partners. I’m reconsidering the pace groups for the marathon.

Gear: One goal for yesterday? Learn about my splits on this type of distance. Required gear? Yup…a watch. Did I bring one? You guess. Lesson Learned: Even short races benefit from a checklist. Make one. Follow it. (Bonehead)

Shoes: Aah, Asics. That’s what they should be called. Aah, Asics. Just adore my new shoes. I did get some blistering (one on the inside of my heel), but nowhere near as bad as before. These blisters were just from running in a good fit, for a long distance. I can manage this. And, glory be, I actually didn’t have (i) knee pain, or (ii) foot pain. Aah, Asics. I am fully converted. Lesson Learned? Be proactive with your equipment to avoid injury. It makes all the difference.