I just registered for the Cebu Marathon in the Philippines. It's in three months (14th January). I don't really run that often, but this a way to commit and have a goal. We will see how it goes! I've been living in a hostel for a month and a half now in Taipei. It still feels good, I don't regret my choice. The location is really nice with great restaurants near it from all over the world (lebanese, russian, german, mexican, italien) and a lot of asian food (chinese-taiwanese, japanese, korean). University is close, it's cheap, and a lot of my new friends are living close by. I'm going to South Korea for six days tomorrow ! Looking forward to that :)
Cool, good luck! With a seven hour cutoff you will be sure to get a medal and shirt. Wikipedia says January is the "Cool Dry" season, which sounds good, but gives low temperatures of 22.6°C (72.7°F) and highs of 30.3°C (86.5°F). Maybe that explains the crazy starting time? Gun Start: 3:00 AM Cut off: 10AM (7 hrs) I'm going to try to beat the Oprah Line on Sunday. Looking forward to your next #tripreport! 42K
Good luck beating Oprah! Whether I come in under my goal time of 4:20 will probably be directly related to number of restroom breaks. My 18 mile run was on pace for 4:15 with zero restroom breaks. My 20 mile run had two breaks and was on pace for 4:25. How do you feel for this weekend?
Thanks, I have some trepidation about Sunday, but it's too late to do anything to prepare beyond sleeping and eating well and staying healthy. My habit of signing up for long distance running events, while doing little running on other days, is probably not ideal. Waste management will be a concern. One of the benefits of trail running is that when Nature calls, Nature is right there. I sometimes worry about carrying too much water more than running out. At the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon, I saw lines at porta-potties on the course. I'll do my best to cut weight before the start, but there's no way I will be standing in a line after the clock starts. The plan this year is to give up my intention to run every step, instead taking walk breaks now and then to recover and eat and drink. I might try to keep the 4-hour pacer in view as long as possible. For the first few miles I expect to be stuck at the crowd's pace anyway.
That's consistent with my plan. I've been walking when I get water since I started with halfs, and I've find on my long training runs that walking a bit is ok. If I don't feel I need water, I'll stop for Gatorade anyway just because I want to walk for twenty seconds. My run should have a 4:20 pacer. I'm going to run with them. I ran with the two hour pacers a year ago, and it was great. They didn't slow down for water, but that was ok. I just caught up with them over the next half mile and then stuck with them until I needed water again. For my plan, 4:20 is a 9:55/mile pace. I think I'll feel good with a 9:40/mile moving pace, so that gives me about five minutes to work with to stick with the pace group. Do you carry your own water during the race? I have been on my training runs but look forward to using aid stations for the race. Standing in a line would be devastating. But, I do feel much better after stopping. I've never needed it in a half, but the long training runs have been mixed. I just need to pay close attention to my diet 48 hours ahead. No full bags of chips, no matter how much I want the carbs and salt. I think that's what got me last week.
I think I'll bring a hydration pack this time. It looks like it will be warm enough that I will want to carry fluid, but I don't want to be encumbered by a hand-held bottle or belt. I can almost ignore a pack half-full of water, and I'll use pockets for nutrition and grab sports drinks at the aid stations. Have to remember to bring electrolyte tablets and some ibuprofen too.
Is this your first marathon? I'm doing my first in three and a half weeks. It's exciting and terrifying. There are a number of runners on hubski, so certainly ask questions if you have any.
This will be my first marathon ! Good luck ! Please update on how it goes :)
I'm doing the Madison Marathon on November 12. It has a couple nice hills. The hill at mile 9 is a bit tough. It should be clear sailing from mile 9 to past mile 15. Mile 15 through 19 is what worries me most. It's a series of increasing hills. There's one more hill at mile 22, but that worries me less. If I can get to the bottom of that hill, I can get to the top. If I can get to the top, I can get to the finish. I'm very familiar with the course, but the challenge of that first 19 miles to see how much I suffer in the last seven will be interesting. I'm not going to do a long run this weekend, but I'll do one more 20+ mile run in a week. Then two weeks of taper.
Good luck with the marathon! Put together a race report or something if you have the time, I would love to read more on how it goes!
Ooo good luck! Marathons are addicting. Do you have a fuel plan? Also body glide. Everywhere. Especially if there will be any humidity or precipitation - it will make life more comfortable around mile 23. Also if you're food motivated like me, it might help to have someone at the finish holding your favorite dessert haha. It's literally all I think about the last couple miles. Hope it goes well! I'm sure it will be beautiful. Also have fun in S. Korea =)