Five Keys To Setting A Personal Best At The Austin Marathon

You are now 18 days away from the Austin Marathon. You might have the goal of getting a Boston Marathon qualifying time. You might have the goal of setting a new personal best time.

At this point in time, you have done virtually all the training. Hopefully, you have used some sound training resources. Maybe you have listened to my CGH podcast on Marathon Training (9/1/09) or you have read “RunSmart”. You are probably within days of starting the process of peaking for the big day.

All in all, you are now on the verge of game time and you are trying to make sure that you have all the pieces in place for that epic performance that you dream of every night.

But great training can be undermined by lousy pre-race preparation. With that in mind, here are my five keys to setting a personal best at the Austin Marathon.

1. Keep your head in the game. Don’t start worrying now. If you have been training consistent with your goals, then the hard work is now done. You have a training plan for a reason, and you should have already established some faith in it. Getting stressed at this point only serves to increase your blood cortisol level, which will prevent you from fully recovering from your training and peaking effectively.

2. Don’t eat like you are in full marathon training mode. The runs are getting shorter as the race approaches, so make sure that you are eating relative to your current training load. Hydrate well over the next few weeks: you can’t cram any extra fluid in at the last minute. Make sure that you don’t overload on water alone; make it some type of electrolyte drink if possible.

3. Realize from the outset that a personal best performance is going to be hard. This may sound intuitive but it bears repeating. Sometime during the race, probably a number of times, you will have to summon the will to push through both the physical and mental challenges. You know you are going to face that demon in the road, so prepare in advance. If you resolve in your mind that that personal best performance is truly important enough, then it makes it much easier to stand tall when the demons make their presence known.

4. Visualize the course in advance – many times. The Austin Marathon course has some tough sections, so plan ahead. Close your eyes and run the course in your mind’s eye. Imagine each and every mile marker. Visualize the feeling of running strong and running fast – and don’t forget to see the finish line! Factor in extra time on the slower sections, and the time saved on the faster sections. Know in advance when you are going to have to push, and when you are going to be able to conserve.

5. Read “Eight Ways To Ruin A Marathon”. Don’t make any of the most common mistakes before and during the race.

If you get to the start line injury-free, and you have used these 5 keys (and avoided the 8 big mistakes), then you will put yourself in a place to have a great race. Toe the line, and run smart!

Photo credits: Camera Eye Photography