Mentally preparing for the split
Let’s see if I can word this question right…
Have you ever participated in a multi-distance race, where you are running the long distance with the shorter of the distances for awhile, then they split off? You know 5K/10K, 5K/Half Marathon, Half Marathon/Marathon, etc.?
Of the five marathons I’ve participated in, Veterans was the only one that had a half option along with it. So the full marathoners passed the half finish line… and had to keep going.* Ugh. And I remember, on that day, Bobbi and I were sort of wishing we could be done, then. Ha ha.
At least I got to do the race with one of my best friends!
The marathon I am running in November also has a half option along with it. It looks like we will be with the half marathoners until right before mile 9.5, then they will head back to the finish. Phew, at least we don’t have to pass the finish line and keep going, like we did at Veterans!
But I am trying to kind of mentally prepare for that “split” in the race. I have a pacer, so it’s not like I will be lost for company. But I am wondering when a large chunk of the people split off, if a large part of the race spirit and atmosphere will go with them. Hmm.
Ha ha. It’s not like I am spazzing over this. Just thinking ahead. You know, the whole “mental game.”
Have you had to deal with this race “split” before? What are your best mental tips for the marathon?
*On a different part of the course – this year they have changed the race to two loops.
Themocracy
I have and every time I am both so jealous of the people doing the shorter distance and also a little snobby and think I am better for doing the longer distance!
The Columbus Marathon splits somewhere between miles 12 and 13, and it is tough to have to keep going. C-bus did a decent job of having a second start for the marathon crowd and having bands (I think). Mark was at a spot right after the split, which helped. You know, having something to look forward to. I wonder if a favorite Gu mid-race would help. Or a Twizzler (if those are vegan).
I’m definitely worried about Vets this year, and I have been thinking about how I’m going to handle it. With being two loops and a smaller race, I know it will be mentally tough to go another 13 miles alone. I’m hoping to have Mark stationed somewhere so he can run me in, especially if I’m anywhere close to a “goal” time (yet to be reconsidered).
Yes! Having something to look forward to helps so much more in the later part of the race! Especially twizzlers… most licorice is vegan and I gobble that sh*t up!
Maybe you will make a buddy at Veterans! And the first loop was fun. It’ll be good to do it twice! What are you thinking for goal time, now?
Mmm, Twizzlers! I think I might make Mark hand them off to me at certain intervals. Must try on 20-miler Friday.
I do know a couple people running and one guy should be my pace so who knows. In ideal world, on a perfect day, I’d finish somewhere between 4:10 and 4:00. I’ll be pretty happy with anything faster than a 4:15, 4:20.
By the way, I like your Naperville goals but I think you might exceed what you predict. Because you are a best.
Hmmm. I haven’t done that many. Aside from Veterans, the only one I can think of is the Kenosha Mayors run on Thanksgiving – they have a 10k and a 2 mile. The course was crowded enough that I was happy wehn the split happened. Wait – the Firecracker run Chris and I did this summer also had 5k and 10k and the 5k split off. But it didn’t bother me then either.
I try to avoid marathons with a half, in general. I wonder how Naperville will be….it’s half and half tho, so at least it’s not like Veterans where the vast majority did the half…
Yeah, I think with a shorter race distance, you would almost like it!
I don’t really care for marathons with a half either. I like ALL the attention. Ha ha ha. I am sure it will be fine though. And good point! There will be A LOT doing the full!
I have done a few. At Fox Cities the half splits off at 2.5 miles in, so that one really doesn’t have time to mess with your head.
The Green Bay Marathon has the halfers with the fullers (hah) until about 11. When Kimmy and I ran it last year our friend Lish was the 2:20 half pacer so it was fun to run with her and that group until the split. We cheered for them to run it in strong and told them we’d see them in a couple hours. hah. I think focusing on them meeting their goals helped distract us from splitting off. It really didn’t seem to bug us that the road got a little lonlier up ahead!
Wow! 2.5 miles in! That is really soon! Man, Wisconsin is SOOO late – 12 miles! OOO, can’t wait to do it again this year!
That is a great way to look at it. And what fun to be a pacer. We should do that some time. For the 13:00 min group!
Oooh,I totally forgot about Wisconsin. Looking forward to that one!
We should be pacers. Then we really can take all day to run. heehee. Do you think the people with us would get annoyed at our chatting???
I think they would like it! And request us again in the post race survey!
If it’s a good day, then the split wouldn’t be as much of an issue but if it’s a bad day, I won’t tell you how ugly it is to pass that finish. I was hurting BAD when I went into my second loop for Lansing. Really bad. I probably should have just stopped but didn’t want to “quit”. It was not a fun second loop. That being said, they had to change the course due to flooding so I wasn’t able to prepare for a split for more than a couple days ahead of time. I bet if you visualize it, maybe reward yourself there, like put in your music if you ever use it, or something fun, then it would be SO MUCH better. You can do it. You know it’s coming and you will be thankful it’s halfway over! :o) Good luck, girlie!
Aww man, I am sorry Lansing was that way for you! But I really like your idea of an “award”! Maybe save a special treat for then… like some Swedish Fish!
The Detroit Marathon has a split half/full marathon that was around mile 11 the year that I ran (mmm 2009?). I remember actually enjoying the split because the pack thinned out a bit and I felt so hardcore. That race was my first marathon and I felt so awesome that I was trained to keep running while other people were about to finish up. I also ran the half marathon the previous year and remembered feeling envious of the marathon runners who got to keep running. It was a cool feeling to see how far I’d come as a runner! The crowd did thin out a bunch though (although Detroit doesn’t have a lot of crowd support anyway). This year Detroit is starting the full and the international half early in the morning(you run to Canada during the half and the full)and then another half (only in the U.S.) is starting at 10 on the back-end of the marathon course. I bet that will help spread out the crowd support throughout the marathon course. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes!
I love that you felt envious of the marathoners the year before. You are such a bad ass! And that is a good idea – to look forward to it 🙂 Or just to think of it as running a half at the back end of the course, like Detroit is doing this year, hee hee.
Yes! The Philadelphia Marathon is like this. I ran the half there in 2010, and I remember being SO HAPPY to be able to turn off to the right around Mile 12.5 while all the marathoners had to keep going to the left. Suckers! (Just kidding.)
LOL, that is how I feel at the WI half each year 😉
When I ran Illinois this year I told the half marathoners I was running near to kick it into gear because they were almost done and I had another 14 miles! It didn’t bother me, actually, because I kind of preferred the solitude after the split for awhile.
I agree! Plus it was a little bit crowded in places before the split so it was nice to have the road to myself for the most part.
I think it helped me to know in advance that the split was going to be there.
That seems cruel that they make the full runners cross the finish line half way through. All of the “split” races I have run, set up the split so that the longer distance runners run within a block of the finish line, but never over it!
Ha ha ha, ikr?! It was RIGHT next to us! GAH!!!!
I ran Indy last year – and golly, that was depressing when the half split off around 7-9 miles (by then I was delirious, so not sure exactly). In my mind, they would be with us for half the race. Being a back of the pack guy – it got really lonely, real quick. Next time I would prepare myself for the split a little better. Like make that part of my partitioning of the run as a milestone, not a “oh darn” moment. I don’t think the hail/sleet/snow/freezing rain helped after they split off, either!
ahhhh how did you get sucked into doing the Naperville marathon?! lol. I pretty much railed against that race after the FB debacle. Maybe I can spectate since it’s not far from home…Whatever you put your mind to you can do it!
I know the answer to that one hehehehe
I was going to include an asterisk giving you some credit, but decided not to. I should have! 🙂
The same way you got an entry to Hot Chocolate – from a blogger. 😉 My friend Ian had two free entries, and offered me one in July.
HA!!!! Ok. Now I don’t feel so bad!! free=Michel being a hypocrite… Well maybe I do have time for that!!!
*not saying you are a hypocrite but I am sucker for free stuff!!! LOL
Yeah, I was offered a free entry to that or Veterans, and this one is closer!
I recall 3 of my 9 marathons having other distances starting at the same time and one where the three distances started at different times but meant you had to pass the turnaround. The defunct Lake County race was point to point and the marathoners had to pass first the 10k then the half finishes (both at train stations with a waiting train). Disney FL used to have the marathon and half on same day (boy has that changed or I am making myself feel old here) with same start and time. I honestly don’t recall the split. DPRT which is this weekend the start and first loop for the 3 distances are the same so for the 50 mile and marathon you have to pass the half turnaround. Now thanks to Kimbot this question will be crossing my mind in 4 weeks LOL
We must work on some mental tactics, together! 😀
Fox Valley & Illinois Marathons had a half turnoff, which I was jealous of at the time! Although funny thing is that at the Wisconsin Half Marathon this May, I had some pangs as I approached the turnoff… thinking “I wonder what it’d be like to keep going”! I was not wanting to keep on at the half marathon pace for the last half mile or so. Funny how things change!
Hmm lets see. Nike women’s marathon/half is so cruel you see the finish from atop the highway a few miles before the halfers split off (and you can hear the cheering for the finish) and subsequently like 70% of the people are no longer running near you and the course sucks the rest of the way. Although for that one I felt fantastic and enjoyed nearly every step so it didn’t bother me.
I did Miami marathon in 2012 and because of a severely strained hip flexor + heat and humidity I should have turned off for the half. It was oooooh so freaking close. I regretted that decision but was happy my Tribu stuck with me for the 2.5 hours it took us for the second half. Again it got lonely and instead of running through ocean drive with spectators we were running in coral gables in a very residential area. Snooooze.
FVM didnt bother me because the finish was no where in sight 🙂
Hmm mental tips? I got nothing. I don’t run with music generally (I did at FVM) but like to observe all the things around me. I’m always “L!! Did you just see [fill in the blank] walking down the street!” And he’s always “no.” So I can point things out to you on the course if you’d like 🙂 also not focusing on ZOMG so many miles/time left but instead to just enjoy where you are at. Difficult to do I acknowledge 😉
Can’t wait to run with you!! 🙂
Oh gosh, Nike sounds like Madison – you see the Capitol (where the finish is) then have to run two more miles. uGHHH. I am happy you liked that race though!
I think since we can’t see the finish and the halfers turn early, we will be okay! I don’t run with music anymore, either. Although, side note, I am NEVER paying attention when Steven is driving, and he gets frustrated when he points out things and I didn’t notice them.
I CAN’T WAIT TO RUN WITH YOU! I was thinking this am, during a bathroom emergency, that I have to warn you about my bathroom emergencies. LOL.
All 3 of my marathons have had half marathon counterparts and “the split”. With my first (it was St Jude) and I had to pass by the finish line turn it was hard (and scary!). With the other 2 the splits came earlier and there was a lot of cheering by the half marathoners and “good lucks” which was nice. With my most recent the aid stations after the full split became full-on buffets (a la trail race style) which was pretty (ok, really) nice.
In all cases, the crowds of runners REALLY thinned out and so at times it would be a mental battle since you did (or at least I did) lose some of the runner “company”/energy. I think knowing to expect this in advance and just enjoying the journey are the best “tips” I have to offer.
Thanks for your input! Did you feel like, but the third marathon, you were dealing with the split better?
Most definitely. I had a better idea of what to expect and I think I may have said out loud “time to get to work” LOL…NERD ALERT!!
There was this one race I ran which was a 5K/half-marathon. I, obvs, did the 5K but my mom did the half and they ran by the finish line FOUR TIMES before they finally got to “cross” it. Torture! She says it was the most boring race she’s ever done… just doing the same loop over and over again!
FOUR LOOPS?! That is awful!!!!!
I think the only race I’ve done with a spilt was the Hot Chocolate. However, 15K was manageable to me so the split didn’t bother me. I can see how daunting a half/full marathon split would be, though!
It’s definitely a good idea to mentally prepare for this! I’ve only done one race with different distances running the same route (for a portion, obviously) and it was the Baltimore Marathon/Half Marathon… but I ran the Half and it was set up a bit different. In Baltimore, the marathon starts first and about 2 hours later, the half begins and runs on the last half of the marathon course. I felt bad for being so fresh while the marathon runners had already been running for over 13 miles! I felt less bad when we hit about midway of the half and the relay runners swapped out and were even more annoyingly fresh.
Good luck at your marathon! I think you’ll surprise yourself this year and rock it!
Where did you two get those arm sleeves? I MUST have them! hehe. I don’t mind races with mass starts that then have the distances splits off. But I HATE races where the different distances converge. It’s dangerous often first, and second, it can be a demoralizing experience for both the faster runners of the longer distance who are weaving around and passing the slower runners, and also for the slower runners who are like, WTF is this!?
I cannot remember the name of the company! But the service was REALLY horrible, so if I did remember, I probably wouldn’t share, anyway. Ha ha. I do like Gypsy Runner and Wildskins arm warmers – they may have some patriotic ones! 🙂
I do think having the two distances converge is so bizarre, and dangerous as you mentioned. I didn’t run LC in 2011, but that immediately comes to mind (the marathon started early, then joined the half marathons with all the walkers in the back).