It’s here! That weather that smells like crunchy orange leaves, fresh out of the oven pumpkin muffins and college football! (Yes, you can smell football in the air!) Today’s added bonus was the intermittent rain and overcast grey day. It does not get any better than fall in my world!
Fall weather also means races. I think most runners would say that spring and fall is the best time of year. Cooler temps plus little humidity equals the most perfect of running conditions.
I am commencing this great racing season with a couple of racing firsts. Tomorrow Fleet Feet here in Tulsa is putting on a rather unique race distance – the Quarter Marathon. A 10k race (6.2 miles) is fairly rare among race distances but even rarer is a quarter marathon (6.55 miles). To top it off, there is a 5k race before the quarter marathon and for a little extra challenge they’ve offered an option that you can run these back to back. So, tomorrow I not only run the Quarter Marathon but I will run both races or the Q-Doubler.
All in all, the distance totals at just under 10 miles which is a very doable run for me. The challenge, I think, comes in how to actually run the race? Do I pace myself steadily in both races and treat it like a regular training run? Do I go for a 5k personal best and see where all this core training and speed work has brought me thus far? Do I use the 5k as a warm up race and then try to put everything I have into the longer race?
And there you have it. Your very own close up into the inner workings of the runner’s brain. 🙂 I think I know which option in the end I will go with. Most importantly, I will choose being smart over pushing myself to do more than I should at this point. The bigger race for me is the Route 66 Marathon coming up at the end of November. Need to stay healthy so I can pound out the longer miles, right?
A close second to all this race strategy is the question of what running gear will be with me as I head out tomorrow morning. I always like to decide these things and lay them out the night before. Even though I get up with plenty of time to grab all this in the morning, there is something about a race day that I just tend to be in a sort of a jog fog. Mental alertness eludes me. So, here’s what is in my pile:
A: SPIBelt to some extra fuel, hydration tablets and a key.
B: Honey Stingers. These are my new current favorite in running fuel. Normally we consume these on long runs. I’m taking these in case I need to refuel during the second race. The chews are like eating very soft gummy bears. The waffle is like eating graham cracker pie crust. And lemony to boot.
C: My race bib. You would think this would be easy to remember. But, in fact, I have showed up on race day without this precious commodity! Thankful for a good running buddy who was just behind me on the road who stopped by my house to pick it up! Running buddies are worth their weight in gold. And confirmed race times. 🙂
D: My Plantronics blue tooth head set. I use to wear Yur buds and ended up converting to blue tooth because I really hated the cords. These hold a charge for close to 8 hours which is more than enough time for any of my runs.
E. Nuun hydration tablet. This is new for me to carry with me. I am normally a minimal water drinker when I race. But after a recent 12-mile run on a very humid day I began to appreciate the importance of staying hydrated and replenishing electrolytes. Tomorrow will in no way be too humid and I will probably be fine on what’s around for the racers. But I don’t do well with Gatorade and I thought at the very least I may be able to Nuun between the two races.
There’s probably a lot of overkill here. After all, I have done these kind of distances on great days with much less. If nothing else, I shape my running regimen a little more for the next race.
See you at the finish line!
See Stormie Run 