So, it’s on. Berlin, that is. Officially. Finally.
There are 24 days to the Berlin Marathon, which I signed up for last year (I think), forgot all about it, and I was never quite sure that I’d make it there.
But, with less that 30 days to go, hotel and flights have been booked. Yes, I like right on the edge, ha, everything is last minute! Somehow, I found an amazing hotel, the perfect roomie tagging along, and a great flight that leaves me there for a whole week to explore and enjoy the city, its food and the sights, and practice the german I am going to learn in the next two weeks!! Luckily, both my training partners will be there, so I am already guessing it’ll be a blast.
Training has been okay, but I have no real way of knowing where I stand right now. I haven’t done a marathon in 19 months! Well, NYCM, but that doesn’t count. I would have loved to run a half in the last month but there was not one around I could make…
The thing is, I have no clue what will happen pace-wise. With no half since the disastrous 1:43 Brooklyn Half, and not much since, I have no idea how I’ll pace, I’ll have no plan. A waste of a flat course, to have no strategy if you ask me. So, I will go blindly following my heart rate and leave it to that. This will be my biggest pacing challenge ever. Even with 9 fulls under my belt.
The other question mark (a challenge?) will be the flat course. I’ve never run a flat marathon. I don’t even train on flat, not even for mile reps. I did my last long run (21 miles) in a very flat stretch and it was quite different. It can get tiring. We shall see. The plan is to go smart and adjust to smarter.
Right? Am I missing anything? Bring it on!
runningandthecity 