Thursday, January 05, 2006

Final pacing plan for Goofy

I'm posting about my pace plan for the Goofy Challenge again, mostly because I want to solidify it in my brain and commit to it, so that I don't go out too fast in the half marathon, thereby causing the second half of the marathon to be a sufferfest. Last-minute pace revisions, or "winging it" in the middle of the race are often a recipe for disaster!

Here's my "finish today" pacechart that I will use to stay ahead of the cutoffs both for the half and the full marathons. The "gel" notation is when I need to remind myself to take a swig out of my gel flask; the "elyte" notation is when I take salt capsules. Otherwise I just drink water at the aid stations.

1 0:15 15:30
2 0:31 15:30
3 0:46 15:30 ELYTE
4 1:02 15:30 GEL
5 1:17 15:30
6 1:33 15:30 ELYTE
7 1:48 15:30
8 2:04 15:30 GEL
9 2:19 15:30 ELYTE
10 2:35 15:30
11 2:50 15:30
12 3:06 15:30 GEL
13 3:21 15:30 ELYTE
13.1 3:23 03:55
14 3:37 15:45
15 3:53 15:45 ELYTE
16 4:08 15:45 GEL
17 4:24 15:45
18 4:40 15:45 ELYTE
19 4:56 15:45
20 5:11 15:45 GEL
21 5:27 15:45 ELYTE
22 5:43 15:45
23 5:59 15:45
24 6:14 15:45 ELYTE
25 6:30 15:45
26 6:46 15:45
26.2 6:50 03:55

If it's very cold on Saturday I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll be very tempted to run a bit faster than I intended too - and I'm afraid my legs will pay the price the next day! So I've already printed out this minimum pace chart (just what I need to keep ahead of the cutoffs) and put it on my waistpack so I'm ready to go. My plan is to do 5:1s run:walk intervals most of the way, except walk through the water stops and photo ops. (There are no significant hills on the course except one overpass).

  • IF I feel strong, I won't drop the intervals and start running continuously until after Mile 18 of the marathon (after exiting the Animal Kingdom Park).
  • IF I don't feel strong (more likely, considering my current lack of long-distance training), I'll try to fight off walking continuously in the marathon long enough to make the finish line by the cutoff, and collect my Goofy medal!

If you're watching along from home, I hope to be no more than a few minutes ahead of this pace. If I'm more than 20 minutes ahead of the pace during the half marathon on Saturday (running my typical standalone half marathon pace), I may well be hard up against the pace chart numbers and the cutoffs on Sunday! But remember that the times that they email out will probably include 15 minutes or so for getting through the crowd to the starting line, so the times may look much slower than the pace I'm actually going.

13 comments:

Spandex King said...

Good Luck!! Sorry I stole your photo. It was to funny!! Take care, The King

Cliff said...

Enjoy...

Cliff said...

and take lots of pics.

Unknown said...

good luck with your race, nancy. wanted to let you know for the record that i like to project my own weaknesses and body flaws on to other people. the lady the other night didn't have a fat ass. i just like to say that to make myself feel better!

good luck with the run and make sure you post a ton of pics!

TriZilla said...

Ok, I just ready the unofficial plan. Geesh!

You can do it! I'm sure of that. Just take it slow and steady. :)

Papa Tweet said...

Good luck with the race. Nytro and I will be tied up on Saturday, but we will try to sign up for updates on Sundays run. Do you have any recovery drink? It may be a good idea after both runs. I use Endurox and it works like a charm. I have been out of it for a week and I can really tell the difference. It will help rebuild muscle glycogen after a hard workout. You can take it during your "glycogen window" which is within 30 minnutes of finishing your run. Just a thought. It works great for me, thought I'd share. Good luck Nancy.
Benny

Steven said...

Go get 'em, Nancy. You are ready to rock n roll!

William said...

Good luck Nancy. It's going to be lots of fun.

Sixteen Chickens said...

I can't wait to read your race report! You go get that goofy medal girl!

Fe-lady said...

You will do so well with all the planning and training you have done! Have fun and know that you get at least three hugs (if not more) at the finish line! We are all going to be thinking of you!

Holly said...

Go NANCY Go! (and Jeanne and Linae too!) I can't wait to see you wearing that goofy medal and the hat! (Photo Op!!)

jeanne said...

Good luck nancy! and remember to have fun!!! Be goofy! i'll try to get updates, but i'll be thinking of you the whole weekend!

Chris said...

Good luck, Nancy! Have fun out there and enjoy the fruits of your labor! :)