13.1 Strategy/Tactics

GOAL: To finish in under 2 hours, and as close to 1:50 as possible.

To do this, I need to beat a pace of 9:09/M. I am confident I can do this. To finish in 1:50, I need to beat a pace of 8:23/M, which seems much harder. The best pace I have had in a race is 8:17/M for a 5K. My 10K best was much higher at 8:48/M. Based on my best race time, Craig's Running Calculator predicts a finish time of 1:57:04 for me. That's a pace of 8:55/M. I think I can do this.

STRATEGY: 5M+5M+5K. That's here.

I am going to break the race down into 3 separate runs.

[1] Pennsylvania Ave. The first 5 miles, I need to be smooth and relaxed. I am going to try to do a "negative split" on 8:30/M pace. The first run ends at Pennsylvania Ave, and I hope to get there by 43 or 44 minutes. I need to focus on not being freaked if it's a little longer than that.

[2] New York Ave. The second 5 miles, I need to be strong and steady. If I hit my mark during the first 5, I need to kick it up just a hair. This is the part of the race I think I should be doing 8:30/M even. If I feel better, I can go faster, but not too much faster. Any splits in the 8:20/M range should be cause for concern; back off a bit. I hope to get here by 1:27 or so. Even 1:30 would be acceptable.

[3] K Street. Just before I turn East onto K Street, I can think about the rest of the race as my training run at home: 3 miles. I'll be running through Gallery Place-Chinatown near Dad's office, and I should be excited. I do think that this part of the race is really going to suck--it will be painful. During my 13 mile run, I did finish the last 5K at an 8:30/M pace; however, I had run the previous miles very slowly--above 10 minutes per mile.

TACTICS: Where to Drink/Eat/Pee

There are lots of aid stations and places to pee on this course. They occur at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. That's great. I will need to change this plan as I go, but I plan to fill my water bottle at mile 3 and 7. That means I'd drink 36oz of fluid for the whole race, which is fine. I plan to eat as I go--no need to plan this. I think I should pee at 5 and 9 unless I need it before then. If I can go at mile 3, I should. The good thing about all those porta-potties is that I won't be anxious about not having a place to go!

Goodwill Tracksuit

For $6 I bought myself a cheap used track suit at Goodwill. I can wear it to the starting area and leave it on the side of the road, where it will be collected and donated. Perfect solution!

Good Weather


Looks like the weather is shaping up to be perfect for the race. Awesome!