Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Read this for Honolulu Marathon Racing Tips and also Come out this Thursday at 5:30pm for an easy run and Marathon discussion

We will be meeting this Thursday night 5:30pm at Ala Moana Beach Park (behind tennis courts, mountainside) for an easy 40 minute run and discussion on marathon racing tips and strategies. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come out. Below is some great Honolulu Marathon tips form Honolulu Marathon Hall a Famer and Legendary local distance running: Jonathan Lyau... "This year’s Honolulu Marathon is finally upon us. There is a certain strategy to doing well in this event. Here are some race day tips. Soon after waking up, eat a light breakfast that is high in carbohydrates and low in fat [at least 2.5 hours before start]. This should be food that you have found to have worked well before your long training runs. Don't try anything new. Stay normally hydrated. Drink two to three cups of fluid two hours before the race, then a cup 10-15 minutes prior. Dr. Alan Titchenal of the University of Hawaii says, “You can't water load like you can carbo load. Excess water just goes right through the body, increasing urine production. However, fluids consumed during the 15 minutes prior to the race start are likely to be conserved for sweat production rather than urine production because the kidneys slow down urine production during exercise. For those who usually consume caffeine on a daily basis, it may be best to drink most of the morning's caffeine-containing beverage in this 15 minutes prior, to avoid caffeine's ability to increase urine production. The kidneys don't seem to be affected by caffeine during exercise.” Smear Vaseline or BodyGlide on areas of your body that rub (underarms, thighs, toes, nipples, etc.). You won’t believe where you can chafe during the marathon. It can be a very uncomfortable feeling during and after. Before the start, line yourself up in the proper area with other participants who have the same time goal as you. If you line up with faster people, you probably will start off faster than you want to. Lining up with the right group will help prevent you from getting “sucked” out at a faster pace When the gun goes off, there will be a lot of excitement and adrenaline. The pace will feel much easier than you think it is. Go out conservatively. You need to feel like you are holding back. The start on Ala Moana Blvd. will be crowded and you may have a hard time moving until it spreads out. If your first couple miles are slower than your goal pace, don’t panic. Gradually make it up the time over the next several miles. Don’t try to make it all up in one mile. Also, don’t zig zag too much all over the road to try and pass people. You will only be burning extra energy and running extra distance. Begin taking liquids from the first aid station. This will be between 2 and 3 miles. Drink at every aid station along the course. Walk through these aid stations to make sure you are able to drink instead of spilling it.. If you want to run while drinking, the best way to hold the cup is to squeeze and cinch the top of the cup so that it leaves a small opening in the corner. Once you settle down into your pace, get into a rhythm. The first 7 miles are flat so check your pacing. At this point, if you are feeling “too good”, then you are pacing yourself properly. If you are starting to struggle with holding the pace, slow down. Remember that running too fast in the beginning will burn off your glycogen quickly. The sooner you burn off glycogen, the sooner you will slow down and the better chance you will have at “hitting the wall”. The key to a good marathon is running a conservative first half. Having a faster second half (negative splits) means that you paced yourself well and will feel good in the end. You will run faster with this strategy. A perfect example of this are the world records in the marathon. Both the men’s and women’s records were set by running negative splits. Miles 7-9 will be run up Diamond Head and probably into some headwinds. Your pace will slow because of this. Don’t try and force yourself to stay on goal pace. Keep your rhythm and maintain the same effort. You should be able to make up some of the time from miles 9-11 as you’ll have a downhill and flat terrain. If you plan on taking sports gels, it is somewhere between 7-10 miles that you want to take your first one. Wash it down with water instead of sportsdrink. You can continue taking sportsgels every half hour thereafter. Miles 11-18 will be run along Kalanianaole Highway and into Hawaii Kai. Headwinds are usually encountered here. This could slow your pace. The best way to stay on pace and conserve energy is to run with a pack. If you find a pack of people running at your pace, the work together by pacing off each other and helping maintain pace. The effort is much easier with a pack than trying to push through the headwind alone. As you come out of Hawaii Kai at mile 18, the winds will be at your back. If you are still feeling strong at this point, you will probably end up with a good marathon. Try and pick up your pace gradually. If it feels good, maintain the faster pace. As you come off the highway at mile 22 and into Kahala, you’ll find yourself passing a lot of people if you are maintaining your pace. Just before mile 24 is what is called “heartbreak hill”. You will be going up toward Diamond Head to Triangle Park and out of Kahala. Run strong up this hill as the downhill will take you to the finish in Kapiolani Park." - Jon Lyau

1 comment:

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