Marathon Eve

I didn't sleep all that well. I went to bed at 9, but slept only fitfully until Joan and the kids finally got home from their bowling evening with some other school kids. I probably finally fell into a normal sleep pattern around 10:30. The alarm went off at 4, but I didn't get up until 5, so I'm a little behind in shifting my sleep cycle to an early sleep/wake pattern. I need to be able to roust myself up around 3 tomorrow morning if I want to comfortably make it to the Q to park and catch a bus-shuttle to Balboa.

I spent an hour waking up, having a light breakfast of cereal and banana, before putting on my running gear and going out for a light 3 mile loop through the morning air. I wanted to replicate the pace I hope to put in at the start of the marathon and get a feel for how to avoid letting my excitement carry me away. It felt very good to stretch my legs, I covered the distance at a steady 8:20 pace. That might be a tad too fast for the race start. I'd like to be at that pace through the mid-section, but to be strong for the finish, I might need to rein myself in to 8:30 or even 8:40 over the first 6-7 miles.

Some of this fretting about time and pace is probably not wise. But it's how I occupy my mind during the run, calculating time over distance and projecting results. It's fun mental gymnastics, so even though I should be putting time out of my head for this first marathon, I can't help it. I just need to convince myself that success/failure doesn't hinge on it. I know I'm going to come it at under 4 hours, and that's the only real goal I ever had. This shift to 3:50...3:45...or even 3:40 expectations and hope has only come about recently, and I absolutely CANNOT let that dictate my sense of enjoyment and satisfaction from completing the challenge.

The weather report is that it's going to get warm early, so by the time I'm right around 20 miles, it'll be the 9 o'clock hour and temperature rising. I should be near Mission Bay by then, so I hope there will be some ocean breezes.

We don't know what's best to do for spectators. Joan and the kids are wanting to find a spot along the 2nd half of the race route to watch me plod past. But the traffic is going to be snarled and I don't see anyway for them to do that without having to do a lot of walking. Basically, there's no convenient way to do it. Even getting to the finish line at Seaworld means parking at the Q, riding the trolley to the Linda Vista station and then a shuttle to Seaworld. Haven't figured this one out yet.

I still need to pack my bag and get my gear all set. I don't want to be mucking around with things in the morning. I basically want to get up, shower and go.

The only exertion I plan on today is mowing the lawn and maybe de-cluttering the garage. I'd like to clean up the downstairs, but I'll probably spend most of the day on the couch with my legs up. Such is the life.