This could be my last post prior to the Marine Corps Marathon tomorrow as i’m packing up my stuff to drive out (in the rain). I’ll get 2-3 quick miles in when i’m done here just to get the legs warmed up then call it a day .. I’m getting psyched about the race and the whole experience .. I have heard that this is one of the best marathons to run, the course isn’t terribly difficult, and its a great scenic tour of our nations capital.. The weather is supposed to be perfect for a marathon, but I am still planning to bring contingency clothes (as I call them) just in case things take a turn for the worst. I figure that i’ll run with my normal Hind wicked-shirt underneath a long-sleeve throwaway. The temps at the start are supposed to be near 50, so it will be a race-time decision to wear it or not…

I printed out my pace band, and am striving for a 3:52 finish tomorrow .. I know the field is quite large, so the first few miles will probably be a challenge to keep any sort of pace, but we’ll do the best we can. I’m figuring that it’ll take an hour after the race to get through the finish area, on the shuttle and back to the car, so i’m not expecting to get back to Allentown until almost suppertime if things go well (its about 3 1/2 hours back) .. then early to bed and off to work Monday morning, it will certainly be a challenge this weekend and into the new week.

So if I stick to the plan that I did for Steamtown, which is to 1) just keep my pace, 2) take it one mile at a time, and 3) ENJOY MYSELF, it should be a good day .. I did find that when I don’t worry about killing myself to get an excellent time, I enjoy it so much more. I know for a fact that i’m not trained up enough to have an excellent time, I just want to feel good until close to the end (like Steamtown). The best part is that this course is mostly flat with no major hills at the end like Steamtown, so I hope to not die out as bad as I did at Steamtown…

Maybe i’ll write later, we’ll see how things go …. otherwise, the next update will come post-marathon.. ON TO THE MARINE CORPS!