Heading to the expo....

We are getting ready to head to the expo and pick up our packets. Should be a fun day. Need to hydrate.

Countdown...

Wow, I can't believe that the marathon is less than a week away! I am supposed to run today, Wednesday, Thursday and a 'very easy' 3 miles on Saturday. I am not sure about the Saturday run at this point... I'll probably do a few miles though.

The 12 miler on Sunday was a breeze. Now I am really starting to get nervous though. The thoughts about never having run the distance and such are coming into my head. The three tips I have gleaned from some 'expert' runners for this week are to stay off my legs as much as possible, sleep all I can and hydrate. I am going to try and avoid all carbonated beverages this week and stick with coffee, tea and water.

The Spinx Runfest is the Saturday after the marathon. My son is going to run/walk the 5K I think. I am trying to decide if I am going to attempt the half... Not sure if I will do that or not. Clemson plays at home that day at 1:30, so I would want to finish by 10 and then get a quick shower and head out. That might be cutting it close.

Anyway, I hope my shoes continue to break in and the weather forecast holds for the weekend. It should be an adventure!

Rest day again...

I am almost looking forward to the 12 miler on Sunday. This is really odd having logged only 9 miles since Sunday. My legs feel good though!

Finally got my new shoes. I hope 30 miles or so will be enough to break them in. If I am not comfortable with them, I will just run in my old ones. They are both the same model, so I hope that makes for an easy transition. Note to self: Order new shoes a month before the next marathon... If there is a next marathon!

Less than two weeks to go...

Got my bib number... 29666 For those of you not from the Bible Belt, you may not instantly recognize the doom that is spelled out for me with the last three digits. 666 is the mark of the beast, the antichrist... This not good! I am way too superstitious, so I am going to have to do an exorcism over my bib when I pick it up. LOL

Seriously though, its all over but the taper and the race. I am starting to get a little nervous now. Every creak of my body sends fears of injury down my spine. Every sneeze symbolizes an attack of an unknown malady. This is worse than the 22 miler!

I did decide to get a hotel near the start of the race so I could sleep a little later on race day. We will be staying with my sister-in-law about 30 miles away, but that night I am going to get closer to the race and take transportation out of the equation for race day.

I have an easy five miler today, so that should be nice in this weather.

Taper Time!!!

Well, the hardest physical part of the training is done now that I finished my 22 miler yesterday. The fun of the taper starts now. I understand that it can be mentally challenging to reduce your miles as the race approaches, but I don't think it will bother me.

I am a little worried because I am not sure if I could have gutted out an extra 4.2 miles yesterday if I had to. Hopefully the taper will re-energize my legs some and I will survive the race. I also hope that being in a crowd and not being alone will give me some added adrenalin. Off today and an eight mile recovery run tomorrow. I'll be interested to see how that eight miles feels....

Now I am going to have to make some decisions:

1) Do I want to carry some fluids and snacks with me or rely on the course aid stations?

2) What kind of menu am I going to eat heading into the race.