Marathon Ready

Today was my final run before the marathon. It was an easy 4 mile run. Because of some wind, I elected not to run the Ben Franklin Bridge. I opted instead for an out and back on West River Drive, starting at Lloyd Hall.

Things didn't start that well. Lately, I've been driving over to Lloyd Hall to start my runs. When I walk over there, it seems my legs get a nice warm up. The first couple miles are just sluggish if I drive to the start. That was the case again today.

It wasn't a painful two miles, but it did seem to take pretty long. I got to the typical turnaround point for 5Ks. That was where I hit mile 2 and then headed back home. Right before that, I passed two cute females.

I didn't push the pace at all, but I just got progressively faster as my legs loosened up. Even without going hard, my final mile was a 7:09. That shows that I definitely have some energy left.

The weather was kind of interesting too. It was in the low 60s and actually fairly humid. There was a breeze though, so at times I was too hot and other times too cold. I wouldn't complain about that weather come race day. The race weather looks pretty nice and I'm hoping it'll be warm enough to wear my new lightweight racing singlet.

I'm not injured now, but my nagging hamstring doesn't seem to have improved with the rest. It doesn't bother me as much as it did during longer runs, but I definitely still notice it. I'll have to massage and stretch it out well over the next day and a half.

The rest has been great. I'm a little disappointed because I missed two key speedy workouts in the last two weeks. I'm very happy with the overall mileage though. I didn't think the taper actually reduced the overall mileage enough during my training plan. Missing those two runs has reduced my mileage by 9 or 10 each week. This week, it was 35 miles instead of 44 miles. I like that number a lot better. I'm ready to go and don't need more miles.

I'm working 4 to close today. I'm then probably heading home tonight. I pick up my packet tomorrow afternoon. I'll likely drive the course again. We'll probably go to the Aardvark store and the Crossings as well, since we are in the area. The race starts at 8 AM on Sunday and I can't wait. Here's to hoping for a Boston Qualifier.

4 miles -30:31 (7:38 pace)