4:15 and two toenails

I made it across the finish line this year in 4:15:56. I was a little disappointed that it was 2 minutes slower than last year but given that I went into the race knowing that I wasn't in as good of shape as I was last year I decided to just be happy with that result. The run was definitely tougher this time around. The weather, however, was gorgeous. It wouldn't have taken much to be an improvement from the freezing temps of last year but really you couldn't have asked for much better than we got. It looks like I will be sacrificing two toenails and that doesn't count the one that I already lost during training. If I get below the 50% level then I'll really start worrying. I'm walking without too much trouble today - a little stiffness in the hip flexors but nothing serious. All in all, a decent race. Still, I'll hope for better next year. Yes, that means I'm going to do it again.

See you on the other side

I just finished my 20 minute run for the day. Seems a little silly to run for 20 minutes the day before you run 26.2 miles. I imagine it's mostly to keep the runner from going stir crazy. At least it allowed me to try out my clothing choice and see if I'll be warm enough tomorrow. Of course, I have to extrapolate how I'm going to feel after 4 hours instead of 20 minutes but still it's something to work with. I think the weather is going to be almost ideal, really, which is nice. I managed 8:35 splits for this short run. It still surprises me when I see times like that on my pedometer. It seems like just yesterday that a 12-minute mile was a good run for me. I certainly won't maintain that kind of speed for the marathon tomorrow (I only ran 2.5 miles today) but it's still neat knowing the progress that I've made in the past 3 years.

I'm heading into Philly in awhile to go pick up my race bib and wander through all of the cool booths at the runner's expo. I'm staying at a hotel downtown tonight so that I can avoid having to drive in at the crack of dawn tomorrow and deal with parking. I plan to have a nice steak tonight and go to bed early. If anyone wants to track my progress you can do that through the marathon website (http://www.philadelphiamarathon.com/). I will, of course, post results here as well. It would appear that there's nothing left to do but go buy some Gu packets. Thanks for all of the support. I'll see you all on the other side of the finish line.

Counting the hours

It's less than 48 hours until race time. I'm checking the weather forecast on an hourly basis. I'm obsessing about what clothes to wear. And I'm dying for a beer. After a horrendous telecon at work today I really, really needed a drink. But no alcohol until after the race. Of course, if I drink immediately afterwards I'll be a cheap date so that's one benefit. Actually, now that I think about it, there's usually a group of people handing out dixie cups of beer near Manayunk (the 20 mile point) but I think I'll wait until I finish.

I'm now a good mix of nervous, excited, anxious, and tired. I'm almost ready for this race. Almost.

The astronomer says what?

OK, I know I'm an astronomer and all but since when did it start getting so dark so early??? Stupid Earth tipped over, stupid daylight savings. I planned to do my short 30-minute run around 4pm today. I got waylaid with some other stuff and didn't get out until just after 4:30pm. I figured this was fine. After all, it was only 30 minutes, forcryingoutloud. Well, somewhere around the 20 minute mark I was running in the dark. D'oh! At least I was on campus where there are decent lights for most of the way. I had to make some adjustments to avoid parts of my loop that go into some of the residential areas which have no street lights and the short section where the sidewalk consists of ankle-twisting brickwork which is a challenge to navigate even in broad daylight. Despite my efforts to stay out of harms way I still almost got smashed by a car. Granted I was wearing dark shorts and a black fleece pull-over - not the best outfit for running in the dark - but you'd think that my pasty white legs would be hard to miss. In the end it was a decent run. I stayed warm, out from under tires, and I didn't face plant. I also managed 8:44 splits but it was only 3.5 miles. From now on I'll make sure to be done with my runs before sundown.

Dreams

I've had a couple of stress dreams about the race now. Last night I dreamt that I ran the first half of the race and then, for whatever reason, I decided there was something at home that I had to do. The plan was to return and finish the race but whatever I went home to do took longer than I expected and then I looked at my watch and realized that I wouldn't have time to finish the race before they closed the course. Weird. I guess it's to be expected with only 8 days to go.

The weather is iffy for race day. I'm pretty sure that it won't be freezing like last year, however there's a good chance it will be raining at some level. This raises the question of how to dress. I've run in the rain before but always short distances (less than 5 miles). I don't have any kind of rain gear so I guess I'll just get wet. If it's not cold then it shouldn't be a huge deal. But it's all still 8 days away and who knows what the weather will really be like.

Feeling real

Yesterday I got the e-mail from the race folks with my confirmation and bib number. Number 6967, if you're interested. It all seems very real now and I'm quite aware of just how few days there are until the race. In the confirmation letter there is all of the info you gave them when you signed up - name, age, address, etc. Included in that is an estimate of your finish time. When I think way back to January of this year (I think that's when I signed up) I recall having the idea that maybe, just maybe, I could take 10-15 minutes off my finish time from last year. Now that the training is almost over that idea seems laughable. This year's training has been so much harder than last year. Not physically. Physically it's been easier as I've managed to keep the stress fracture at bay (there is the occasional twinge in my foot that tells me it's probably still there but not so bad). I think the weather has been more cooperative this time around, too. What made this year harder was life - all the other things going on besides my training that made it impossible for me to devote the time, energy, focus to my running that I did last year. I routinely missed one of my weekly cross-training sessions because my schedule on Tuesdays simply didn't allow time for even a 30-40 minute workout. I often had to switch around which days I ran, which runs they were (long or short), and which days I took off. Any one of these things isn't huge but when you put 3-4 months of these little things together it adds up to me not feeling as prepared, as strong, as confident about my abilities as last year. So here I am, 10 days away from the race, running less and less each day as I taper, and all I can think about is how I should go run an extra few miles here or add a workout in there. Of course, it doesn't work that way. You can't make up for a run you missed 6 weeks ago by doing one now on what's supposed to be a rest day. No, I'll stick to the schedule but I'm not happy about it. At least the weather looks like it will be better than last year.

A reassuring 20

This past weekend I did my longest run... 20 miles. I was very pleased that I was able to finish it without much ado. That's not to say that it was easy. It was 20 freaking miles. It was HARD and the last few miles seemed to drag on forever but at no time did I think I wasn't going to finish. That's a good thing. That's how I want to feel in 2.5 weeks when I have to run 26.2 miles. Now I start tapering. I love tapering. Well, for the most part. After running 20 miles last Saturday I'm practically giddy that I only have to run 10 this weekend. On the other hand, I know that in a week or so I'll be feeling all fidgety as my mileage continues to drop. That's OK. I'm getting used to this whole process. The other note-worthy accomplishment is that I have come very close to reaching my 8-minute mile goal. Last week when I did one of my tempo runs I set a new PR for the mile of 8:14. Granted, I only kept that pace for 2 miles but still, I was happy. Now let's just hope the weather is a tad warmer on race day this year.