We ran mostly on the marathon course, covering from mile 7 to 26. It was good for me to re-run the hilly section around the halfway point and see that it really isn't so bad - in my memory it was SOO hilly, but in reality there are only three hills. That are pretty large. But totally managable.
Our coach said that from there it's a gradual climb for about 9 miles. At first this sounded tough, but running it yesterday was a breeze. After that, it's all downhill from mile 20 to the end, which I think is going to make for a great finish.
And did I already mention that the first mile and the last mile are the same? Kind of a unique situation for a race, but I think it will be good, because there's a hill right in the middle of it. I'm planning on using some mental trickery to run the last mile first and vice-versa, to make that final mile feel easier. These things start to make sense after four hours of running, ya know?
Also, the finish line is right in front of this:
I hope y'alls 20-miler (or 22?) went well on Saturday! I know I'm feeling strong, and excited to tackle this beast.
WOoP!
I'm super relieved that the hills aren't quite as bad as you remembered. But there's a HILL in the LAST mile?!?! Seriously.
ReplyDeleteWe actually did 12 and we have 22 this weekend:).