Dublin Marathon 2018: The Countdown Is On - 3 Weeks To Go!

3 Areas of Focus, 2 Top Priorities and 1 Mindful Moment for You

The countdown is on. With 3 weeks to go to the Dublin marathon, minds are beginning to focus, mileage is beginning to lessen and the seeds of doubt may be starting to creep in for thousands of runners registered to toe the line on 28 October 2018. So if you're running the Dublin marathon this year and you're wondering what to focus on over the next 3 weeks, we're here to help.

As marathon Sunday draws near, we'll be sharing a weekly post with our top physical, practical and psychological tips to have you race ready and primed to go come race day.

Focus Area 1: Physical

1. The Taper: Your Last Long Run

This week (or next week) is likely to be your last long training run. No doubt you will feel a great sense of relief that the weeks of lengthy training runs are behind you and that you have put in the hard work required. The last long run is about sticking to your plan. In terms of pace, don't try anything new. Don't try to make up for any missed mileage during the week. However, that being said, don't be tempted to take the foot off the pedal too much either. While you are going into the taper for the lead up to the marathon you don't want reduce your mileage so much that you leave yourself feeling sluggish come race day.

2. Dress Rehearsal

Treat your last long run as a "dress rehearsal" for your race. Wear your planned race outfit and practice your race nutrition and hydration plan. Doing so will give you a big confidence boost knowing that on marathon day you will have been through the drill before and there should be no surprises.

Focus Area 2: Practical

1. Get in Gear

Now is the time to start getting in gear with your gear. Is there anything extra that you need to buy? Do you know exactly what you're wearing come race day? Do you need replacement shorts, top or socks? Do you need gels for race day?

If so, it's essential you stock up on those items now. With three weeks to go until race day, if you are missing anything you still have time right now to order online or get to the shops. As mentioned above, this week (or next week) will be your last long run and your final opportunity to try out exactly what you will be wearing on race day. Having been there before and worn different runners on race day than in training, you can take it from me, it's not a good idea.

2. Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

Don't leave things to chance. Now is also the time to start thinking about the weeks leading up to the race. What do you have coming up in your work and in your personal life? If you are anything like us, you may have a busy work life with projects and schedules who demand your attention, marathon or no marathon. You may also have children underfoot that still need to be ferried to school or childcare, fed and watered and who may still keep you up half the night (be that because they're too young to know better, or old enough and should know better!).

If so, start thinking about how you can organise your work and home life to prioritise rest as much as possible over the coming three weeks. Can your partner help you out in some areas for a couple of weeks? Can you book some holidays/ vacations days from work in the days leading up to and after the race so you can direct your focus towards the marathon? What extra curricular activities do you have coming up, work nights out/events? Can you cut back on these to prioritise your rest? Organisation is your friend. And if you plan ahead it will give you great peace of mind in the lead up to race day.

Focus Area 3: Psychological

1. Trust in Your Training - But Every Day is Different

Your last long run may have gone really well. If so, you may be feeling confident,

prepared, on top of the world and race ready. If it didn't go well, you may begin to doubt yourself, your training and whether or not you can make it to the finish line. Either scenario demands a good mindset. If your last long run went well - try not get ahead of yourself and become overconfident. If it did not go well - don't dwell on it. Take the lessons - positive and negative from these runs, consider them, and learn from them. The effort you have put in to your training will give you a good indicator of how you are set for race day. Nonetheless, every day of training and every race is unique. Marathon day will be no different.

2. No Comparisons

At this time, especially if you know others running the same marathon as you, it becomes inevitable that you may compare training runs, schedules, paces, gear, how you feel and any given number of other things to see how you stack up. It's human nature. However don't compare....I repeat, don't compare. Each runner has different goals, different bodies, different fitness levels and will react differently on race day. It's like comparing cars, houses or jobs. Nothing good will come of it. You will either feel terrible about yourself and doubt your training or you may feel over confident. Trust your training and let race day speak for itself. As Theodore Roosevelt once so wisely said, "comparison is the thief of joy".

Mindful Moment

Motivation remains the key to the marathon: the motivation to begin; the motivation to continue; the motivation to never quit.

Hal Higdon

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