'twas the night before marathon...

and all through the house,

Dave was excited,

annoying his spouse.

The weather looked better than ever before,

now Dave will try to run it in under four...

Yes, that's right, the weather is about as perfect as it can get... no worries except that I do not have any excuses for not running a good marathon tomorrow. It is just over 12 hours away, but for the most part, I am actually calm - not like I have been for any other race. So I guess that means I am as ready as I can be.

Tonight, Steph took me out to carb load at Maggiano's. I had my favorite spaghetti and meatballs dinner and lots of water. Afterwards, I headed over to packet pickup and expo. It isn't much of an expo (not like Chicago or the Mini-Marathon) but it is a nice, quaint expo - very small town - and I mean this in a good way. The whole race has that feel to it which is why I like it so much - plus it was also my first marathon, so it is special in that way too. After I got my packet I came right home and now I am preparing to go to bed early - all of my racing gear is out and ready.

So stay tuned for the race report soon to follow. Results will be posted HERE.

P.S. Bib #809

changes: some good, some not so good...

As I drove home this evening, I noticed a number of trees had changed color in just last last few days. It looks to be a very scenic marathon this year... this is the good.

Feeling inspired, I decided to drive by the start/finish area and noticed the tents were already set up as well as all of the port-a-johns lined up. I even noted that the arrows were painted on the pavement that direct runners and walkers alike on which way to turn. As a runner and a past and present participant in the race I am thrilled that it runs right through my neighborhood and right by my house. Seeing all of these things get me excited - even if there are some not so good changes - such as the weather forecast changing. And not in the direction I had hoped. I guess the good thing is at least the humidity will be lower than previously forecasted...

Trying not to obsess, but just wanting the perfect racing conditions... always seems to be a week to two too soon or too late... oh well.

My final tapering is going well, though I must admit that I had a tough time keeping my pace slow during my run yesterday. I was closer to marathon pace for almost all seven miles of my run instead of just the two miles I was supposed to run. I think my body is ready to run this thing...

like a ton of bricks

So it just hit me this evening...

I am running 26.2 miles next Saturday Morning.

I am slightly nervous, slightly anxious and very ready to run this thing in under 4 hours. I just looked at the forecast and it looks so much better than it did a few days ago where it was 60% chance of rain...

But I don't think rain would be terrible - not like the heat Chicago Marathoners faced. I could deal with it -- in fact I am trying to be more zen-like and be at peace with whatever mother nature throws at me and just not worry about it... but who am I kidding? I will obsess and then prepare like I have every other time before. I am as ready as I can be.

On another note, I just received an e-mail that the Indianapolis Marathon is actually reaching it's cap! For the first time in 12 years it will be sold out before race day... this small-town race is growing up and I am glad to be a part of it...

Taper is winding down... just a few more runs and then it's showtime!

Until then, Happy Running to all!

week 17 recap -- hello marathon week!

It certainly felt like a taper week this week. I got in my runs and felt a desire for more... strange considering there have been runs over the last 17 weeks where I couldn't make the mileage due to time or just had a bad run.

Today's run was an amazing opposite from last weekends hot and humid run... once again, congrats to all of you who ran Chicago last week - whether you were able to finish or not you are all superstars.

Looking back, it has been quite a roller coaster - seemed like a lot of bad runs for quite a long time and it seemed that I was always behind or out of sync with the training program. No doubt about it - Pfitz is tough and requires a lot of discipline. I feel better having gone through it even though I probably accomplished 85% of it... I feel more prepared than I have in previous years, but I am not sure how or why exactly. I have not compared my training plan from last year to this year, but I am pretty sure I ran more miles than I ever have in any training.

Yesterday I got a belated birthday present / early marathon present from Steph... a new running shirt personalized just for next Saturday...

week 16 recap

It wasn't the easiest taper week I have had - mainly because the weather has been like it was the middle of August. Other than that, my runs were good, but my pace was a bit erratic on my runs. My average pace was where I wanted it, but my splits just didn't seem right.

Next week looks a little easier, but still challenging... still doing strides and VO2 max runs and finishing up with a 12 mile run.

For all of the Chicago Marathoners out there - good luck and stay cool. Here's a little AC/DC for you ...