It’s LI Half Marathon day! Let’s pretend to be all cheery and excited about the possibility of rain throughout the race. How the forecast went from a sunshine pretty second half to the weekend to OMG stay indoors it’s going to be a rainy day I don’t know but, really, when are weather forecasts ever that accurate?
Anyway.
It’s much better I suppose than having too much sun which creates too much warmth so maybe running in the chillier air with some rain falling will be a good thing! Let’s go with that thought process.
Some pre-race preparation details:
Rest Day yesterday. Sometimes I do the full rest day two days before a half but this time I chose yesterday as my full rest day. I hate not running Saturday mornings though! It takes me HOURS to feel awake, friendly and normal when I don’t run, especially on a Saturday morning.
Number Pick Up. I got my number quickly and easily yesterday morning. I didn’t hang around for the expo but I did get my race shirt which is super nice this year — long sleeve with a hood. Love it!
The Carbs. I had my favorite french toast bagel from Stew Leonard’s for lunch (topped with eggs and jelly). It was piping hot and fresh from the oven, just dusted with powdered sugar when I picked it out of the bagel bin – seriously one of my favorite meals right now and perfect for before a race.
My son had a little league game in the afternoon. Each year that I have run this half marathon, my son has had an afternoon game the day before the race so sitting behind the chain-linked fence taking pictures through the holes was perfect tradition for me.
After the game, we went for pizza. Sometimes I like to eat home the night before a race and then sometimes I just want someone else to do my cooking (as I have basically all week! I haven’t made dinner in days).
Pizza from La Scala plus a small side salad and bread from the bread basket seemed like a perfect pre-race dinner. I had one grandma slice and one marinara slice (both corner slices, I like the corner pieces for the extra crust).
Honestly, this taper week is a bit of a blur to me. I was so busy in 100 directions plus had my son home from school for Passover spring break that I barely remember my workouts. I followed Laura‘s taper schedule for me perfectly. I skipped Pure Barre (I miss it by now!!) and ran mostly short and easy miles aside from Tuesday’s tune up workout.
By now I am totally itching to run and TOTALLY missing my routine. I will never understand how people give up their workout routines — I can’t even remember to brush my teeth in the morning when I don’t run on schedule. Seriously.
Monday – Yoga & 5 Easy Miles
Tuesday – 7 Miles Tune-Up (4 Miles at goal pace)
Wednesday – 4 Miles
Thursday – 4 Miles
Friday – 3.25 Miles
Saturday – Rest!
Sunday – 13.1 Half Marathon
The plan is to start easy for the first 3 miles and then pick up the pace, holding it until mile 10 and then picking it up as much as I can! Not so sure how the weather will affect my plan but I am rested and ready to get this thing going.
Please follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for updates! I am hoping to get my recap up by tomorrow, if not, I will be back on Tuesday with the full details.
Race Day! Plus my week in workouts #running #halfmarathon #lihalf #longislandhalf #raceday #fitfluential Click To TweetPosts of Interest:
LI Half Marathon Over The Years
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Who else is racing this weekend?! Good luck!
Do you have a favorite pre-race dinner?
Best thing you ate so far this weekend?
Good luck today!! So I stayed with my friend last night and realized we are right in the middle of the race course!! So at first I was thinking I would walk over and watch the race, but then I realized my other friend who is driving me home today won’t be able to get here because of road closures! So I am getting a ride to her house at 7am. I hope you have a great race and will be stalking you from the car ride!
Lisa @ Running Out Of Wine recently posted…5 Springtime Runfessions
I can’t believe you were so close! Maybe next year you can come run it?
Right now it’s just cloudy by us so hopefully it’s the same for you! Good luck, you actually have good weather for racing and looking forward to hearing how it goes!
Michele @ paleorunningmomma recently posted…Triple Layer Paleo Lemon Bars with Coconut Whipped Cream
the weather was perfect!
I’m definitely the same way about not feeling awake/fully human if I skip my usual workouts. Habit is a powerful thing. Good luck today!
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday recently posted…Five Friday Favorites 04/29/15
thanks! It feels so nice to feel human again today!
Good luck!! Have a great race!!
Pre-race dinner involves bread rolls, grilled chicken and some form of sweet potatoes. I’ve traveled a lot for races and this is an easy combo to get my hands on 🙂
Arthi recently posted…Oh Hey, Friday!
love sweet potatoes before a race – somehow I skipped them in the last few days but I did ok without them.
I hope you’re enjoying your race right now. The one thing that gets me through bad wether races is knowing how tough I will feel after…and give me all the warm coffee! Today was a XT day so I did some elliptical while listening to a new running podcast with Another Mother Runner. The night before a race I make sure to eat something I both made and something my stomach will easily digest. Usually peanut butter and bananas. Can’t wait to hear about the race 🙂
Ellie recently posted…New Themes: Affinity and Shoreditch
it was a great race! the weather held out and was actually perfect racing conditions for me.
I know you are going to crush it and cannot wait to hear! I am so similar with disruption to routine, which I think you heard me go on about earlier this week because running sets the tone for everyday. Got to love though how a taper puts a good hunger in the legs to run hard!
Laura @ This Runner’s Recipes recently posted…Trail Mix Cookies
I am so happy with today’s race! And so happy to return to normal running shortly – taper weeks are not so fun after a few days lol
It gets much easier to give up the workout routine once it’s been awhile. The first few weeks are challenging of course, but after that you take to slothville like a pro. 🙂 🙂
Good luck today. I know you’ll do fantastic, mainly for two reasons: 1) you had the prefect pre-race carbs (yum), and 2) it’s you so you’ll slay it.
Meghan@CleanEatsFastFeets recently posted…Week In Review: #28
slothville lol…..Thank you for believing in me! Hope all is well with the baby xoxox
Good luck today!
Alyssa @ renaissancerunnergirl recently posted…April Monthly Recap
thanks!
Good luck today 😀 Have a great race and hope it all goes well. Totally with you on being discommoded from normal running routine… I rather love my running routine during the week and things feel really weird when it changes for whatever reason…like something is missing!