TORONTO September 21st 2015. Digital Champion Dawn Barnable started running in 2012, 2 years after gastric bypass surgery. She wanted something to keep her strong and fit, and running was something she could do whenever she wanted. Dawn will be completing her third marathon at STWM this year and she loves the distance because it’s in the second half of the race, that you really discover who you are. When she’s not running, you can find Dawn at the gym lifting weights, hanging out with her kids, or working as a full time Realtor. Connect with Dawn on Twitter and Instagram. 
So You’re Running A Marathon In A Month – Here’s What I Know. By Dawn Barnable.
I can hardly call myself a seasoned veteran of marathon running, I only have 2 under my belt, but I sure have learned a thing or two,
I am sure you have been tracking your mileage, following a plan and building up to those long slow distance runs by now and soon you will find yourself in taper madness but whether this is your first or 21st marathon , there are still things you need to remember.
Here is a list of things I do to get myself ready to run 42.2k with only 4 weeks left.
Run a half-marathon and practice your race pace. This past Sunday I did just that and I killed it, beating my old PR of 2:22. I ran a solid 2:20 – on a treadmill to boot. By doing this practice “race” I was able to challenge myself both physically and mentally in order to prepare myself for race day. I am by no means one who races – I am typically one of the slowest out there. For me this practice race is a chance to get my head in the game and review what went wrong and what went right seeing as I will be repeating this distance 2 times in the next 4 weeks.
Figure out your nutrition and hydration plan. This is vital to anyone running for hours on a course. You may be one of the lucky ones who sails through in under 4 hours or you could be like me plodding along out there for 5+ hours. Regardless, we all need to know what our bodies like and dislike on race day. I do not carry fluids as I have always found aid stations to be readily available. I do carry gels because my tummy likes them and they don’t give me any GI issues. I make sure when passing through the water stations to grab both a Gatorade and a water and down them both. I do not tolerate a lot of sugar so mixing these makes it much easier on my stomach.
Plan your race day outfit, including shoes, socks and clothes and take them on a test run. The shoes and socks are critical because you never, ever want to wear new shoes to a race. You absolutely need to work them in and make sure they are working for you. I had a bad experience after a race involving blood blisters on both my feet due to ill-fitting shoes that I thought were OK. The same goes for your outfit – know that the articles of clothing you’re wearing to race are not going to ride up , chafe or fall down during the run. Take your entire race day outfit on a run at least a week prior to the race. Layer, layer, layer is the key to running any fall marathon. The temps can change significantly over the course of the morning so you need to know what to discard, tie up or toss to crowds!
Do not build up mileage in the last few weeks before the race. You have probably been following a 18,16 or 14 week training plan with a very dedicated run schedule. Do not think that this is the time to start adding in extra runs, doing more speed work, running extra hill drills or pushing too hard on those long slow runs. You will be running your longest distance probably this week and then you will start the decrease in mileage, aka tapering. Learn from this long run both physically and mentally and challenge yourself, but don’t race it quite yet – just get a feel for the distance.
Run at the same time as race day. This is very important especially if you are running most of your training runs after work or in the late afternoon. You should experience what it feels like to run in the morning, before race day. The temperature is different in the morning, and your body is also in a different state. Those runs after work may have you limber and loose from being busy all day and you need to know what it feels like to run when you have just woken your body up.
Let your mind positively embrace the fact that you are about to do something that not many have or ever will do. On those last few runs, while you are spending a lot of time alone with your thoughts, keep telling yourself that you got this. You have worked so hard for the past few months training both your body and mind to conquer this feat. Repeat that mantra in your head over and over so that when race day approaches you arrive to the start line focused and determined to finish what you started so many months ago!
