LISTEN TO EPISODE 72 HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/72-developing-race-day-goals-how-to-assess-your-fitness/id1446735036
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✅THINK ABOUT WEATHER: What climate do you come from? Are you racing in the north but live in the south? You may not be used to the temperatures you will be racing in, so you will really want to feel out those first few miles of the race and see how your body is adjusting to it. A lot of the adjustment will be mental and your body will do just fine unless it’s really cold/windy. For a more scientific approach, you can use the Jack Daniels VDOT calculator, plug in a recent workout or race and what the temperature was during that workout/race. You’ll get an equivalent race time in ideal race temperatures
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✅LOOK AT YOUR WORKOUTS: Key workouts for the marathon are steady states, tempos, and long runs. These will best predict how training is going. The other consideration is how your workouts translate to races for YOU specifically. Some people really crush workouts but then don’t crush it on race day, others aren’t doing anything outstanding in their workouts but crush it on race day. Some runners get a big energy boost from the racing environment and others don’t. Know what kind of runner you are and how your workouts usually translate to racing
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âś…SET EFFORT-BASED OR TIME-BASED GOALS: Time-based goals are better for more seasoned runners, and effort-based goals (focusing on feeling GOOD!) are best for newer runners. The goal is to have positive experiences for those first few marathons. We want you to be a lifelong runner. Having really concrete, strict goals going into your first few marathons might set you up for a negative outlook on marathons later on
Race day is approaching for athletes! Many people are looking back over their cycles or thinking ahead to what their goals will be for races this fall.
How do you know what kind of shape you are in and when should you narrow down your goal for race day?
When does an athlete generally get a sense of what sort of shape they are in?
What are some of the key things you look at as a coach to see what type of shape an athlete is in?
Mileage Consistency History/Experience Key workouts over time Long runs & feedback from athlete Some people like to have more aggressive goals and other people don’t like to put time goals on themselves: know what type of runner you are!
How soon before they race are you really able to give an athlete a race plan with paces?
How much will the taper & cooler temps add to their performance?
Will race day weather impact your game plan?
Should you get a pace band this far out?
Do you recommend mile by mile pacing or more effort based? A
re their ways to do this without getting to antsy?
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