Weather & Other Pre-Race Thoughts

Well, the marathon is almost here! I've taken this week off for the most part to rest. I had just a little bit of tightness in my right IT band after my last run, and I thought resting that to be a bit more important than doing a little tempo work this week.

The weather outlook is good for race day! Here's the window we are most concerned with:



Cool, but pleasant seems to be the forecast with winds out of the ESE at 9mph and little chance of big gusts. All good.

It seems like a good time to recap my goals for the race. They are, in priority order:

1. Finish
2. Finish strong, not limping or crawling and without a significant fade if possible
3. Finish in less than 4 hours
4. Run close to my Planned Marathon Pace of 8:05-8:15 per mile, which translates to around a 3:35 marathon...ambitious.

I am just a bit nervous. Haven't raced in a long time. Not that I am a threat to win, but there is just a bit of anxiety with an event this long. As I've said here before, training for this race has instilled a lot of respect for any distance over 18 miles. Even the best are humbled by it, let alone those of us mere mortals who attempt such an effort.

I will post as soon as I can after the race on Saturday!