I got an e-mail today, from the organizers of the Indianapolis Marathon.  The e-mail contained my bib number and full details of the race.  With the race now just over two weeks away, it is time for me to start studying and memorizing the course map.

Why would I want to memorize the course map?  It is not like I am likely to get lost on the course. There will be thousands of people running, so the route to take will be obvious. Well, I don’t study the map to make sure I don’t get lost, I study it to try and save time during the race.

There are two areas where I can save time during the race.  The first of these is at aid stations.  My goal will be to run through aid stations, grabbing only water as I pass through.  I will be carrying all of my nutrition, which will be in the form of gels.  My plan is to consume a gel just before getting to an aid station, and then grab water to wash it down.  I therefore need to know where the aid stations are, so I can eat my gel in time.

I will try to grab two cups of water and will drink them without stopping.  To do this, I pinch the top of the cup when drinking. This slows down the flow of water and makes drinking easier. I will spill some water, but that is normal.

The second reason to study the map, is to memorize where the course turns left or right.  Running tangents (the shortest, straight line route between turns) will minimize the total distance I run on race day.  A marathon is 26.2 miles long, but if you don’t run tangents, you can easily end up running something like a total distance of 26.5 miles.  While that 0.3 miles doesn’t sound like a lot, at my pace that represents almost 2.5 minutes of added time.  That could be the difference between qualifying for Boston or not.

I have printed the course map and will study it almost every day until race day.  There is also a pretty good chance that I will drive the course, the day before the race.  Attention to these small details, is critical when chasing a PR and a Boston Qualifying time. These are my goals for the race, so it is time to start learning the course.