Spring Race Goals and Adjusting My Training

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Christie Clinic Illinois Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRavePro.  Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro ambassador, and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! 

The fall is ending, another cross country season is wrapping up and I'm remembering what it's like to have time to myself and with my little family, so naturally I decided to add a Spring race to my schedule! I'll be running the Christie Clinic Illinois Half Marathon at the end of April 2022 in Champaign, IL. The course comes with a total elevation change of 50 feet (flat!!), aid stations every couple miles and entertainment along the course. The race supplies a goodie bag with a medal, foil blanket and gender-specific crew neck t-shirt. All great things which I'm hoping will lead me to a new half marathon PR!

While a flat course, pace groups and well-stocked aid stations are all helpful, the real PR maker is going to be in the 18 weeks leading up to the race. I learned a lot in my last few races about what I need to do in both my training AND on race day in order to have some success. While my training plan won't deviate too much from the past, the things that I do to supplement my training will be the things I look forward to changing and seeing how they impact the end result.

Weight Training

In my first attempt at a sub 3:20 marathon in Milwaukee, my training plan went flawlessly. I was hitting paces, I wasn't injured, I was sleeping and fueling well, but when I hit the hills on the Milwaukee course I fell apart. I finished the race 4 minutes past the mark, felt the worst I have ever felt post marathon and had the biggest drop-off from the first to second half (1:38, 1:46). I could tell that I did not prepare my muscles properly. My cardiovascular was in tip top shape but my muscles were not. 

I'll be adding in my own 18-week strength program to accompany the running for this training cycle. My plan includes core lifts like squats, deadlifts, etc and works them up from a lighter weight at 3x10  to a heavy lift at 5x5. Along with that I'll include auxiliary lifts that target correcting running form, work small muscle groups like the soleus and gluteus minimus, and focus on one-legged exercises to correct imbalances. A separate day will be dedicated to core work, hips and feet/ankles. The big toe is the last thing to leave the ground as you run so having "stiff" ankles and a strong big toe can decrease the amount of energy lost to the ground on that last step. For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction (thanks Newton!), so I'd like to get the most out of each step. Here's a preview of one of the weeks:

Race Strategy

Planning a negative split in a race has got to be the most nerve-racking race tactic. You are completely putting faith into your training and in yourself that somehow you're going to be able to pull it together in the second half of the race. On top of that, you have to fight the urge to get carried away by all of the adrenaline from the people around you getting carried away by the moment. 

I only really allowed myself to attempt a negative split race when I had nothing to lose and was running just "for fun." When I ran Grandma's Marathon in June I had ditched my training plan part way through. I bit off more than I could chew and training just had to go on the back burner. I trained enough to get through the race but not enough to PR so I took the opportunity to start out slow and see what I could do. I broke down the race into 4 different 6 mile segments and sped up for each segment leaving the last 2 miles for whatever I had left in the tank. It went so well that I have run every race using that same strategy ever since (it's only taken my how long to figure that out???) There's nothing better than being able to pick up the pace just a little bit more and catch all sorts of people at the end of the race. It's a whole energy I can't really describe, I only wish I would have figured it out sooner. 

For the half marathon, I will probably break it down into 4 mile segments - first 4 at 7:20, next 4 at 7:15 and last 4 at 4:10 and last one with whatever is left in the tank. That would be about a 1:35 which is what I'm shooting for. 

Process Focused

I put a lot into my training. It's a lot to ask someone to dedicate 18 weeks of their life to anything, let alone a single day for a race that's less than 2 hours. I have dedicated those 18 weeks and succeeded but I also have failed, both have taught me a lot, but one really stung. I almost swore off marathons after Milwaukee, I was so heart broken. The dumbest thing about that was that I still PR'd. I was so focused on NOT hitting my goal that I didn't even celebrate that I set a 5 minute PR on a really challenging course. 

Setting a goal that is lofty and just within reach is part of making a good goal. What's the point in setting a goal that you can easily reach? This was the first time that I didn't play it safe and really put myself out there with the real possibility that there was a chance I wouldn't hit my goal. On top of it, I had shared it with other people which makes you even more vulnerable. In hindsight I didn't hit the time but I did complete the training and hit the training times. I learned how to get out of bed at 4 in the morning and hit the treadmill for a 10 mile training run before school on a cold snowy morning. I gained all of that fitness and the belief that I was capable of doing something ambitious. Not hitting my time didn't mean that I wasn't capable of it, it just meant that things didn't come together on that single day. 

Focusing on the process in both my training and my life has been the biggest work in progress. Switching away from being results-driven has allowed me to focus on what I'm doing and the small gains along the way even if the end-result isn't in my favor. It's challenging, frustrating and much more easy to say than do but I'm working on it!

Together, working on strength, race planning and mindset, I hope to string together 18 solid weeks of training and go for a 1 hour 35 minute half marathon. If you find yourself itching for a Spring race, you can join me in Illinois and use the code "2022BIBRAVE4ILLINOIS" and receive $10 off your race registration on any event except the youth run. You can join in on the 5k, 10k, half, full or go for one of the challenges. See you there!

www.runwithcoachfischer.com