I didn't sleep well last night. I tossed and turned thinking about clients I still need to place for the upcoming football season. I got up a couple times, sent emails, made notes for follow-up calls this afternoon (yes, I make calls on Sundays) and generally jotted down some reminders for myself and a timeline for their completion later this week. If there's one thing that my clients never worried about when I told them about this campaign, it's that the level of service and representation would diminish in any way. If anything, it's only increased. At any rate, the San Francisco Marathon is now just under two hours away. Right now it's 53 degrees outside with low lying clouds, incredible moister and if the sun were up, it would reveal that the City by the Bay is undoubtedly covered with fog. Looking at the hourly breakdown, it's not supposed to get above 60 degrees during the entire marathon. Though that sounds chilly to many people, for a bigger guy like me, that's ideal.
Ever the data nerd I keep pretty detailed training and racing logs, to try and take the guessing game out of both good and bad performances. I account for variables such as sleep, fatigue, body weight, temperature and humidity, terrain, intensity and duration of workout, extrinsic work-related stress, etc. Point being, I've determined that despite diligent hydration in the days leading up to the marathon--and despite going through both bottles on my fuel belt as well as multiple 'running cups of water' along the course--on a typical marathon where the air temperature is 70 degrees or higher, I will lose between 8-12 lbs during the race. By contrast, when it is 60 degrees or cooler, that quotient drops to 6-10 lbs. Although that might seem like minutia to the casual observer, that's actually a substantial difference in terms of variable dehydration and the resulting cramps that ensue between miles 18-26 on the course. That said, the fact that it's in the low to mid 50s, with damp air and near complete cloud cover, bodes well for my race...especially given all the hills I'm about to battle.
Regardless, I'm going to run with a slower pace group today. After my meltdown in Seattle, and given the brutal nature of this course, I'm going to start running with the 8:30 pace group (3:42 finish time) and see how I feel. Looking at the topography of the course and after having driven it yesterday, the hills, though pervasive, are pretty much over at the 18.5 mile mark. That said, it's better to start conservatively and hold it (or pick it up if I'm going good) than to start too fast and burn out and be passed by slower pacing groups. Trust me, the humility of this endeavor is not lost on me.
There is no greater metaphor for life than running and no better narrative for perseverance, self-awareness, and accomplishment than distance running. In less than two hours, I will add another chapter to this ongoing saga.
Doug Eldridge
President
DLE Sports
