April 2009 – The Final Countdown

[El Gordo]

Great news that you managed to get the obligatory bad run out of your system before the big day. I was worried you were leaving it a bit late...

One missed long run is no big deal. Many will argue that it will do more good than harm. As for the misfiring 20, it doesn't do much for your self-confidence I agree, but at least you've answered your own questions about why it happened. Sounds like you didn't have enough energy on board before setting off, and you've taken note of it. A bit like my 20 on Sunday -- I made a couple of classic errors but have told myself that it was a good thing to be reminded of the consequences.

All things considered, it seems to me that your training has gone pretty well. It's good to have a time goal but if you miss it, it really doesn't matter. I would like to beat my Zurich time, but hey, there's every possibility of crashing at 20 and limping in at 5:30. People will still be polite, and I'll say the right things about "next time I'll do it", and that will be that.

We all know that the race itself will give you that mysterious extra ingredient that just isn't available on training runs. Whether it's the crowd support or the camaraderie of the runners, or the thought of your loved ones proudly waiting at the finish to see dad come home... whatever it is, or whatever combination, you'll do the business and feel happy with your work -- and so will we.