It’s Official

I’m running the Akron Marathon.

“What?” you say. “You’ve been talking about this bleepin’ race all winter, spring and summer long!”

Yes, yes, but I didn’t register until six minutes ago. And now it’s all settling in.

It took me weeks to register because I just wasn’t sure it was going to work out – like four short weeks ago when I was just breaking into some real distance runs. While, like any math test I took through college, I’m not remotely as ready as I’d like to be, I know I can run 26.2 miles. Rain or shine.

Although I am hoping for shine. My shoes finally dried from Saturday’s run in the rain!

So, how did I spend my taper week so far? Well, I rested Monday and Tuesday (my quad and knee really appreciated the vacation) and ran about four miles this evening, three around 7:45-8:00/mile pace in sets of 1000 m.

The middle 1000m was probably the fastest: one of my neighborhood streets lost power to its street lights, which made the whole stretch pitch black. I run for my own knees’ safety on the street when it’s dark – think those sidewalks jump up and bite me in daylight? – but this was more than dark. I couldn’t have seen a pothole, uneven concrete, human being or skunk if I tried.

None of it felt very fast, however. Granted, 8:00/mile for short distance isn’t too speedy for me anyway. And while I wasn’t really laboring, I just didn’t have it in me to push much faster or farther. At least I’m getting all of my “another one of those days” out of the way before the race.

I suppose it’s also a perk of not running for a solid goal on marathon day. Crossing the finish line? That’s golden to me.

But what excites me most about the next week and a half is the food factor. Obviously I won’t be loading up on cupcakes and treats (that’s post-race food), but I will be testing my race week foods and crafting precisely what will make me feel awesome Saturday morning.

Will it be sweet potatoes? Or will it be pasta? A bowl of gnocchi? Or a big old baked spud? Only eating will tell.