2 weeks to go.
What do you do for inspiration? As I get ready for the big race, I need to pump myself up by reviewing all the awesome things this race has to offer. Sure, I will watch the obligatory movies in Remember the Titans, Prefontaine/Without Limits, and Invictus, but I need to draw some more race-specific motivation this week.
Above is a video I made to pump myself up for the big day.
For a really inspiring visual tribute to this great race, check out the YouTube video below.
Captured here is a telling reality of the UP run from Runners World and former elite Amby Burfoot.
In a 7-part Runner's World YouTube series you can see Bart Yasso take on the Comrades
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
I am even venturing out into the fiction realm, as long as it is Comrades related. On my Kindle is In the Long Run by George Stratford.
I have been reading throughout the year, a book on Comrades. It is called Comrades Marathon by John Cameron-Dow and covers the history of the race, year-by-year. Inspiring to read about the greats, though not a through read as it is more of a coffee table book.
Check out this rousing performance of Shosholuza by the Drakensberg Boy's Choir. This song is sung by the masses at the start of Comrades every year.
The race plan:
Step one: Eliminate mistakes from previous years. Prior to the race, jog and get out of the hotel room. Last time was too much down time.
Next, wear the right shoes. Every single person who knows about running will tell you to run in the shoes you have been wearing. Then why did I wear flats last time without training in them? Because I am a jackass, that is why.
No hero stuff: It is supposed to feel easy at the start. Don't go faster than the plan, especially since the first 60% of the race is mostly uphill. I got hooked up with some fast guys last time and although they pulled me along and made time pass, I was through halfway in a bit over 7 hour pace and suffered from there, losing Silver. Get up and over the hills to half way, negotiate Inchanga, and use the next part to cruise. Power through Camperdown and work to Pollys. Let Pollys be what it will be and lock in for the ride to Maritzburg. Don't ever give up.
I expect a half split in the neighborhood of 7:20 (overall time) pace and either hang on or push up for a negative split. I must negotiate maximizing my fitness (somewhere in the 7:00-7:15 range) with the best odds for a Silver (halfway in 3:44 or so). It is hard to say.
What do you do for inspiration? As I get ready for the big race, I need to pump myself up by reviewing all the awesome things this race has to offer. Sure, I will watch the obligatory movies in Remember the Titans, Prefontaine/Without Limits, and Invictus, but I need to draw some more race-specific motivation this week.
For a really inspiring visual tribute to this great race, check out the YouTube video below.
In a 7-part Runner's World YouTube series you can see Bart Yasso take on the Comrades
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
I am even venturing out into the fiction realm, as long as it is Comrades related. On my Kindle is In the Long Run by George Stratford.
I have been reading throughout the year, a book on Comrades. It is called Comrades Marathon by John Cameron-Dow and covers the history of the race, year-by-year. Inspiring to read about the greats, though not a through read as it is more of a coffee table book.
Check out this rousing performance of Shosholuza by the Drakensberg Boy's Choir. This song is sung by the masses at the start of Comrades every year.
The race plan:
Step one: Eliminate mistakes from previous years. Prior to the race, jog and get out of the hotel room. Last time was too much down time.
Next, wear the right shoes. Every single person who knows about running will tell you to run in the shoes you have been wearing. Then why did I wear flats last time without training in them? Because I am a jackass, that is why.
No hero stuff: It is supposed to feel easy at the start. Don't go faster than the plan, especially since the first 60% of the race is mostly uphill. I got hooked up with some fast guys last time and although they pulled me along and made time pass, I was through halfway in a bit over 7 hour pace and suffered from there, losing Silver. Get up and over the hills to half way, negotiate Inchanga, and use the next part to cruise. Power through Camperdown and work to Pollys. Let Pollys be what it will be and lock in for the ride to Maritzburg. Don't ever give up.
I expect a half split in the neighborhood of 7:20 (overall time) pace and either hang on or push up for a negative split. I must negotiate maximizing my fitness (somewhere in the 7:00-7:15 range) with the best odds for a Silver (halfway in 3:44 or so). It is hard to say.
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