Half Marathon in Boston (Just got back from Vegas am I in trouble?)
No sweat ny, roll the dice! Get a good nights sleep friday night and a little tune-up run on Saturday and you'll do great. We expect to see a PR.
john
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
I agree with Cayman - DO IT! If you feel strong, then use your judgement. When I'm preparing for a race, especially after little recovery from a previous one, I employ this quick test. Go for a nice run tonight, say 4 miles. Spend a mile doing a slow, jumpy run then pick it up to marathon pace for a mile, then half pace for a couple hundred yards and maybe then a 100m sprint or so. The whole time forget your 'mind' and focus on your body. Listen to your breathing, your foot-strikes, your quads, your knees, etc. Jog it back home as your eat your cereal or banana or whatever your post-workout-crack is remember how your felt. I find that 9/10 times I not only feel physically ready for a race but it adds a whole level of metal confidence that I personally know gives me a leg up on the pile come race day, regardless of being overtrained.
Or to put it another, simpler way - you can spend a whole season gearing for one big race, you can be in the best shape of your life and brimming with confidence, all it takes is one perfectly timed spot of undercooked potato to flush your whole season down, if you can take risks and have fun doing a few reckless races, you have much less to lose in my opinion.
In case you haven't noticed, we are all essentially completely insane to begin with, we all know you are going to race no matter what advice we give. If only because you can...
-See you on the path
cayman- thanks for the advice and confidence.
Stephen Dennis-
Thanks for the laugh and realization that we are all crazy for doing some of these things. I am going to do it. Not sure how I will do but I am going to do it. Thanks
-Mat
I was pretty sick (with bronchitis of all things) for my entire "taper week" leading up to a 1/2 marathon last weekend. For about 8 days, I didn't do anything physical aside from chasing my kids around. Did the race and set a PR. Remember, your conditioning is defined by the training you have done over the last few months, not by the workouts you do (or don't do) during the final week. If anything, you might want to do a couple of quick, short runs over the next couple of days to remind your legs of the sensation - no more than 5mi. Then go out, do the race, and have a good time with it.
thanks burnman- I figured that. My legs feel strong it was just all that drinking in Vegas that may have set me back...





So I just back from vegas this Sunday night and I am a little tired but I have been able to run/workout these last 4 days I have been back but I am a little tired. Do you think 13.1 miles is really that big of a deal? I ran 6 miles yesterday and I felt very strong.
-Mat