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Alexi Pappas Discusses Life as a Marathon Pacer

Published by
DyeStatPRO.com   Oct 29th 2014, 8:57pm
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No Easy Way to Prepare for Marathon Pacing

Published by TrackTown USA on October 29, 2014

We are creatures of preparation. When we are young, we nervously prepare for the first day of school. We pick out the outfit, the backpack, the pencil we will use to make our first “mark” in the world. When we are older, we prepare for new things, other traditions: a romantic date, a job interview, a marathon …

But no matter how many times we rearrange our hair before the first school day, date, interview, or marathon, there isn’t a definitive indicator of “preparedness.” I find, instead, that I am always-never fully prepared for anything – inevitably, there comes a moment when it becomes necessary to stop preparing and just GO.

This October, I had the honor of pacing the Chicago Marathon for a group of women chasing the U.S. Olympic Trials “A” standard time. With the exception of cheering on my dad in his first (and only) marathon, this marked my first step into the marathon world. I also discovered that I was the only female pacer in the elite field, and maybe even in the history of the race – making this quite an auspicious marathon experience.

I arrived in Chicago as prepared as I could be: I was well-rested after recently coming back from a month away from training (as is custom at the end of a long professional season), and I also had taken on a few key workouts to practice the proper pace and sharpen up fitness-wise. I learned how to use a GPS watch for the first time, just in case my inner clock failed or tricked me come race day. But no number of perfectly paced workouts could have fully prepared me for the electric experience of being a part of the Chicago Marathon.

What I found when I arrived is that there isn’t a practical way to prepare for some things, such as waking up at 4:15 a.m. for race day breakfast and 5:30 a.m. security check. Do we practice ripping off a band aid? No. We just do it.



Read the full article at: gotracktownusa.com

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