I would like to thank Seth for sharing some of what he does to prepare for and race a marathon. Some people may think that fast people do things totally different, but I know runners at every level who approach their marathons the way Seth is describing. The commonalities are consistent and adequit preparation, well thought out objective race goals, well planned preparation and focused on tasks do be done not how they feel during the race.
Marathon Preparation and Race Day Rituals of Seth Wold
The mind set for marathoning. When preparing for a marathon it is important to create a realistic goal. This goal should be a measurable result which you can control. For example, I shouldn’t go into races with a goal of taking a certain place, because I can’t control who comes to the race or how well they will perform. But setting a time, heart rate, or effort goal helps me run strong no matter what the race day circumstances may be. As part of this goal, find a marathon
training plan with daily workouts written out. (i.e. The Salt Lake Running Company Website is a good place to start😉The most important part about marathon preparation for me is remembering why I am training for and running the marathon. I am in it for the fun. It feels good, and I gain a real sense of accomplishment from preparing for and completing such a large goal. It is hard to stay consistent with training for a marathon. But the feeling I get completing a race is so great that it is worth all the hard solo runs I muscled through in preparation.
Race day thoughts for me are pretty simple. I think positively about all the work that I have put in preparing. Sure, I could have trained harder, but I am happy with what I did. I have my gels (taken every half hour), salt sticks (taken every hour), and sport legs (taken every 2-3 hours) measured out in plastic bags pinned to my shorts. My shoes fit, with a pinky to thumb width in front of my longest toe to the end of the shoe. I am wearing tech clothes; singlet shorts, socks and gloves when needed. I have applied a liberal amount of Body Glide to avoid painful chafing late in the marathon. With all the physical needs taken care of I shift my focus to the mental aspect.
No matter how the marathon finishes, I am genuinely happy with the results. Whether I obtained my goal or fell short I am happy that I had the courage to go for it. If some of my competition has a great race, then I am ecstatic for them. It is fun to watch others achieve their goals, and inspiring to watch others continue to try to catch an elusive goal.