To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

[Sleepless Knight]

Hopefully you're able to take the race without a time trial.

I'm not going into this race with any pre-conceived notions of how I should perform. Instead, I'm just going to let the race come to me and celebrate the victory lap.

I'm not really sure why it works this way for me, but I tend to have both better race experiences and better race results on the clock when I focus on letting the race come to me on that day and go at an acceptable pace by feel. Now I'm sure this probably results in slower times for me, but I also think that for me the tradeoff of enjoying the experience and reaping the benefits of what came leading up to the race makes me more likely to continue running.

 

[DopeyBadger]

2021 Madison M Weather: 2 days to go!

Snow looking more definitive now. Still the hope it doesn't stick. But they're calling for 2-4 inches now.




Start at 7am and end at 11am
11/4/21 - WC of 26-31, 72% cloudy, 22% chance of precipitation, 9-13mph NW wind
11/5/21 - WC of 24-30, 36-68% cloudy, 11% chance of precipitation, 6-11mph NW wind (T+D 55-64)
11/6/21 - WC of 22-29, 56-68% cloudy, 19% chance of precipitation, 8-11mph NW wind (T+D 56-63)
11/7/21 - WC of 22-28, 68-72% cloudy, 10% chance of precipitation, 7-11mph NW wind (T+D 54-62)
11/8/21 - WC of 22-26, 86-90% cloudy, 33% chance of precipitation, 6-11mph NW wind (T+D 54-59)
11/10/21 - WC of 22-26, 75-78% cloudy, 24% chance of precipitation, 6-12mph NW wind (T+D 52-61)
11/11/21 - WC of 23-25, 84-90% cloudy, 36% chance of precipitation, 8-13mph NW wind (T+D 56-61)
11/12/21 - WC of 24-27, 92-100% cloudy, 68% chance of precipitation, 6-13mph NW wind (T+D 62-62)

 

[SheHulk]

Oh come on. This is what I hate about the marathon. The best laid plans of mice and men can be screwed up by random weather. You can come to Philly next weekend the weather looks perfect!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Oh come on. This is what I hate about the marathon. The best laid plans of mice and men can be screwed up by random weather. You can come to Philly next weekend the weather looks perfect!

So so true. As much as I'd like to, it's not realistic for me to travel to Philly. It'll be a morning of decision, but if I don't like the conditions, then I'll just run solo on Monday morning. The one thing maybe working in my favor is that the Saturday night temp has been creeping up to 33-34F. So maybe it won't end up being snow that can stick due to the slightly too high temps.

 

[DopeyBadger]

If we can just get wet roads, I can live with it.

10/7/21 - R - 9 miles @ M Tempo

Thursday

The forecast was calling for rain all day. So I took the day off from work to try and find 90 min of rain free running. It didn't work. I waited several hours in the morning and it looked like there was going to be 60-75 min break in the rain, so I took it.

Conditions - 🌧 Light Rain, Wind 8mph to 14mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 63°F + 61°F; FL - 63°F
End: Temp+Dew = 64°F + 62°F; FL - 63°F

Well the rain held for a little bit. Like I feel like Mile 2-3 it started back up again. Maybe even sooner. And it went from a light rain to an absolute pour. So... so much for that.

Rain not withstanding, the run was excellent. I felt really comfortable from the start and the 7:15 GAP pace felt really natural. So I just kept up with it. I never really felt strained until I started to move the pace into the 7:03 and 7:00 during the last two miles of M Tempo. Then I could start to feel the effort. So the 7:15s felt really good at this T+D. The final average M Tempo was 7:14 and HR of 147. Adjusted for T+D is a 7:05 min/mile, and adjusted for grade makes it 7:03. Nice! The total run was 12 miles, 91 min, 7:35 pace and HR of 143. Body felt really good after the workout. I mean look at my 1.5 mile CD at 7:51 and 8:22 pace. Even after the 9 miles M Tempo, my body still was moving pretty good at an easy pace.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Whatever the weather and your decision for tomorrow, good luck!

 

[DopeyBadger]

2021 Madison M Weather: Tomorrow!

Local forecasters saying less than an inch and unlikely to stick to roads.




Start at 7am and end at 11am
11/4/21 - WC of 26-31, 72% cloudy, 22% chance of precipitation, 9-13mph NW wind
11/5/21 - WC of 24-30, 36-68% cloudy, 11% chance of precipitation, 6-11mph NW wind (T+D 55-64)
11/6/21 - WC of 22-29, 56-68% cloudy, 19% chance of precipitation, 8-11mph NW wind (T+D 56-63)
11/7/21 - WC of 22-28, 68-72% cloudy, 10% chance of precipitation, 7-11mph NW wind (T+D 54-62)
11/8/21 - WC of 22-26, 86-90% cloudy, 33% chance of precipitation, 6-11mph NW wind (T+D 54-59)
11/10/21 - WC of 22-26, 75-78% cloudy, 24% chance of precipitation, 6-12mph NW wind (T+D 52-61)
11/11/21 - WC of 23-25, 84-90% cloudy, 36% chance of precipitation, 8-13mph NW wind (T+D 56-61)
11/12/21 - WC of 24-27, 92-100% cloudy, 68% chance of precipitation, 6-13mph NW wind (T+D 62-62)
11/13/21 - WC of 24-24, 92-100% cloudy, 50% chance of precipitation, 11-16mph NW wind (T+D 62-63)

 

[DopeyBadger]

Whatever the weather and your decision for tomorrow, good luck!

Thanks!

 

[jmasgat]

Looks like it's a go....good luck!

 

[DopeyBadger]

The 2021 Madison Marathon Strategy

Carb loading

On Saturday (today), I plan to follow my modified Western Australian carb loading procedure. The goal is to take in approximately 11-12 grams of carbs/kilogram body weight. I weighed in this morning at 175.8 pounds. So officially 10 pounds less than the Non-Cancelled Marathon. Still a little higher than I was aiming for, but I'm happy with the progress. At 79.7 kg I'm aiming for 11-12g/kg bw.

So instead of 80% of my carbs being sourced from liquid sources, I will instead get about 50% of my carbs from liquid sources and continue to eat almost normally. The goal is to eat at least 11 g carbs/kg body weight as I did in November/January 2020. I had no ill effects from this strategy prior and felt absolutely great on race day. So early Saturday morning, I will get in my 20 min run w/ strides. I'll drink chocolate milk and Maurten 320. I'll continue to drink Maurten 320 throughout the day aiming for 5-6 total packages. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner I'll eat somewhat normally. I'll drink extra water to thirst and drink 1-2 Liquid IV throughout the day. The 6 Maurten packages would be 480 grams. My dinner is 100 grams per the Hello Fresh recipe. My chocolate milk is 60 grams. My double rice packs at lunch is 160 grams. And my breakfast is around 150 or so carbs. A few snacks here and there will get me to the 900-950 gram goal.

Race Morning Nutrition

On Sunday morning, I will drink 16-24oz of Liquid IV around 4:30am (approximately 2 hours before my last opportunity for the bathroom around 6:30am). I will eat my PB sandwich around 4:30am as well. I'll drink Maurten 320 about 15 min prior to race start (6:45am).

Race Outfit

I haven't settled on an outfit choice yet. Shorts is a definite. But I'm still debating between sock sleeves and a tank top vs a very light long sleeve. I'm leaning towards the light long sleeve at the moment because of the precipitation. Minimize exposed skin.

In-Race Nutrition and Hydration

As for fueling during the race, I'm planning the following:

minus 15 min - Maurten 320
45 min - Tailwind Concentrate
60 min - Maurten Caff gel
75 min - Egel
105 min - Tailwind Concentrate
120 min - Maurten Caff gel
135 min - Egel
165 min - Tailwind Concentrate

There are 18 aid stations on the course. So to stay hydrated and assuming 3oz per cup, I'm aiming for two cups per aid station.

Race Pace Strategy

Mentally I'm breaking the course into three portions. Mile 0 to 11 which is a set of rolling hills. Then Mile 11 to 15 is relatively flat, or cancelled out between the ups and downs. Then Mile 15 to the finish is rolling hills again. The course overall has a GAP average of 6 seconds.



My strategy is to pay attention to the hill miles and know that I'll be slower on those. So if I'm doing 7:10s on the in-between miles, then I'll assume mile 9-10 should be around 7:27 (7:10+17 sec).



Based on the data I accumulated during my prediction post, as well as the pace by body preferred during M Tempo training runs, I'm thinking something around a GAP of 7:03.

I'll be cautious at the entrance of the arboretum in case the conditions aren't great for running.

If anyone is looking for live tracking, I'm bib 1121. This is the tracking (link) and (link). The marathon usually has timing mats at 2 miles, 10k, HM, 15.9 miles, 20 mile, and Finish.

I'm going into the race with a mindset of things I know:

-I know that I tend to start slower.
-I know early on in marathons and M Tempo training runs, the pace doesn't feel comfortable at the start.
-I know that as things progress my legs will open up and things will start to feel more normal.
-I know as the race progresses, maintaining the same pace will take an increase in effort.
-I know that my HRvPace relationship tends to be worse than what it was in training during races.
-I know that not everything will go to plan. Be like water over a rock. Just flow.
-I know that as the race nears 19-20 miles I may start to see some fade in pace.
-I know that in roughly 3-3.5 hours time the race exhaustion and pain will be over.
-I know I'm capable of great things if I just trust myself.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Looks like it's a go....good luck!

Thanks!

 

[SheHulk]

Go get em! Can't wait to see what you do!

 

[striker1064]

Good luck tomorrow!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

-I know that I tend to start slower.
-I know early on in marathons and M Tempo training runs, the pace doesn't feel comfortable at the start.
-I know that as things progress my legs will open up and things will start to feel more normal.
-I know as the race progresses, maintaining the same pace will take an increase in effort.
-I know that my HRvPace relationship tends to be worse than what it was in training during races.
-I know that not everything will go to plan. Be like water over a rock. Just flow.
-I know that as the race nears 19-20 miles I may start to see some fade in pace.
-I know that in roughly 3-3.5 hours time the race exhaustion and pain will be over.
-I know I'm capable of great things if I just trust myself.

I love these. I think they are important to keep in mind during the race. The pace feeing uncomfortable at the start hit close to home after this morning's tempo run. And just flowing is important to remember in keeping the mental pace correct. Even if physical pace slows, the mental pace helps keep me in the proper mindset.

 

[StacyStrong]

Good luck!!!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Go get em! Can't wait to see what you do!

Good luck tomorrow!

I love these. I think they are important to keep in mind during the race. The pace feeing uncomfortable at the start hit close to home after this morning's tempo run. And just flowing is important to remember in keeping the mental pace correct. Even if physical pace slows, the mental pace helps keep me in the proper mindset.

Good luck!!!!

Thanks!

 

[DopeyBadger]

No snow stuck to grass or roads at home. We are ready for takeoff.

 

[azrivest]

No snow stuck to grass or roads at home. We are ready for takeoff.

Go get it!

We're all cheering super loud for you from afar

 

[Herding_Cats]

Good luck!

 

[StacyStrong]

Congrats on the finish!