less than 2 days...

I've decided that in fact, I am ready for Saturday. I have done everything to prepare; the running, the resting, the hydrating, the eating, reading up on everything.
I went out to a restaurant called "Levente's" in Dupont Circle last night. The history department brought in a speaker from Georgetown (who happened to graduate from HC in '81 - woo!), and I went out with the speaker and some of the faculty. Very good dinner (I had the Doner Kabab, which was lamb over white rice), and I had a lot of fun. It was a good way to relax and get off campus for a bit.
I wish I could just bypass the next 40 hours and get to the starting line. Nothing is really pressing; I have a class and meeting tonight, and a class tomorrow. Following class tomorrow, Charlie and I are going to go to the Expo and pick up our bibs, race chips, and all that jazz. My parents will come into town tomorrow night, and we'll go out for dinner (with carbs, but not too excess). I can't wait to see them!

final run before Saturday

I just finished the final run that I'll do before Saturday's race. Two miles around the perimeter of CUA. I even got up the long hill on Taylor St. that's always been a challenge for me. I included that hill in all of my runs this week, just as proof that I can do it. I don't even think any of the hills in the marathon will be as bad as that one. It was about 40 out and foggy, and very quiet at 7AM. It'll be a different kind of energy on Saturday, that's for sure.
The run flew by fairly quickly - it was over within 20 minutes. Of course, I saw my friend Peter the Guard on my way out and back. I gave him his marathon mile dedication letter today, and he was so sweet. He said "I'll be thinking about you then, and I'll always be there for you and supporting you." I got all choked up - he is the nicest man!
And now I am done - no more running until Saturday morning. Just lots of rest (hopefully), water, stretching and mental preparation. And eating! Carbs, carbs, carbs...

my days are numbered

5 days, as a matter of fact.
I did a four miler this morning. It was very quiet in Brookland, and very peaceful. Normally, I don't have time to go running Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings because I have to prepare for Latin, so I generally go after class. However, since the run was so short, I was able to squeeze it in. I'm glad I was able to; it was over fairly quickly, and I was able to check it off my list for the day.
Following that, the majority of my day was devoted to Latin. Lame.
On the plus side, I got a call from Pam today, and I hadn't talked to her in a few weeks. It was great to catch up, and we both have big stuff going on this weekend, so we were able to talk about that.
I've been trying to be extra-conscientious this week about hydrating, so I've been carrying a water bottle around everywhere. Yes, now my body is clean and pure, but I've been making more bathroom trips than usual. I just need to make sure that I'm nice and hydrated on Saturday, but not to the point that I need to make a pit stop.
It's all about finding a happy medium! Or a laetus medius, if you will. And therein lies the proof that I've been working on Latin all day.

unable to sleep

For a few reasons, I wanted to get to bed early tonight.
Tomorrow is a school day.
Tomorrow I am doing my run at 7AM.
I wanted to get the schoolweek off to a good start, so I can be well-rested for Saturday.

I even finished my schoolwork, and hopped in bed at 11:30, optimistic about my ability to fall asleep. After all, I had a full day: reading, yoga, church, Latin, and so I felt like I would easily fall asleep.

Nope. Not yet. I hate when I try to go to bed early and can't fall asleep. Of course, when I am tired enough to go to bed, I can't because of the work that I need to do. Tonight is the opposite. Work is done, and here I am, wide-awake.

"You will beat the world!"

So, with a week to go, I did my final long run - 11 miles, which translated to the Lincoln memorial and back. I did it at 7AM - same time as the race will be next week. The city was much more quiet than it was when I normally go. It was very peaceful, actually.
On my way back, I was waiting at an intersection and the runner next to me started talking to me. We ended up running together for a mile or so. He was very nice. His name is Tom, he's 62, and he said that he has run about 45,000 miles as an adult. He gave me some marathon advice, since he has done a few. The last piece of advice he said was (and this was my favorite), "No matter what time you finish the race, 4 hours, 5 hours, it doesn't matter, because you will beat the world! This is a big deal!"
And with that, we parted ways. What a nice guy.

10 days

10 days to go.
I did my Renaissance style presentation last night - now that's off to the list. I'm hoping to finish my conference paper tonight (that's what I'm working on now), then plugging away at Latin until Friday. Once I finish my Latin exam on Friday, I'm headed back to American to watch Holy Cross play American in the Patriot League Championship! I've never been to one of the championship games before, so I'm really looking forward to it. Plus, if HC wins, we get an automatic bid to go onto the "big dance," which would be pretty sweet. I think there's going to be a fairly large HC turnout, and the funny thing is, American is on Spring Break, so there won't even be a ton of their students present.
I ran 3 miles on the elliptical this morning. My hamstring is still bothering me a little, so I've been taking it very easy. Things have definitely improved since the weekend; I was definitely limping on Saturday and Sunday.
10 days.

Getting itchy

I'm starting to feel a bit restless. I've been cutting back, like I should, but I feel like I just want to go ahead and get to race day. This is what Runner's World says about this week: "Week 2 is a transitional period. You're halfway between the agony of your last 20-miler and the ecstasy of the marathon."

I agree. I still have a lot to do between now and then, and not even training-wise. I have a presentation to give tomorrow night on Rhetoric and Style in Renaissance humanism, a Latin exam on Friday, and a paper to write that I'm giving in 2 weeks at a conference in Maryland. I know that I need to just focus my attention on that stuff...but I just feel antsy. Gar!

Less than 2 weeks to go...

2 weeks?! Holy cow, it's really coming up. I did a 14.6 long run yesterday morning. It was about 42 outside, and I got to wear my new running shirt (blue with a netted white stripe in the back) and shorts. It was my first run outside since I've been sick: I ran about a 9:42 pace (still felt a bit stuffy), and I think I hit the hills pretty well. There were more hills in that run than there will be on race day.
This was the lowest mileage week I've had since last year. And while this is right on schedule, it felt very bizarre to cut back, and the next 2 weeks will be weird as well. It was good to at least put in some miles today, although I felt as if I was holding a bit.
I'm not sure, but I think I may have pulled a muscle in my right leg yesterday. Luckily, I don't need to run again until Tuesday, so hopefully that will help.

Bib # 2168

So, I just found out my bib number for the marathon: 2168. Something about getting the number got me more excited about the race. Maybe because the number is a certainty - it's not one of the variables I'll be dealing with on the 21st.
I'm feeling a lot better, but I'm not not 100% back from my head/chest cold. While I had planned to cut down on running anyways this week (because I've started to taper), I had to slow things down ever more so because of the cold. Which is fine - I've been sleeping, drinking fluids, and resting in general instead. I'm sure my immune system was rundown from work and running, so I'm really not surprised that this all happened. So, now I've been given a chance to recuperate, and I've taken the opportunity to do so. I'm hoping that once I get this out of my system, I'll be super strong, healthy, and ready to go. Fingers crossed...

the tapering has begun...with a cold

I left for my long run yesterday worried I had a cold (something that had entered my mind Friday night). But, I couldn't really let that stop me, so I went out and did it. But when I came back, I felt a bit hoarse and coughed a bit. But the cough didn't really leave (I was hoping it was just from my lungs being exposed to the cold weather for several hours), and it was still there this morning. Since it hadn't left by the afternoon, I realized I did in fact, have a cold.
Today began my taper. Tapering means reducing how many miles (and their intensity) I run in the 3 weeks leading up to the marathon. While it may seem counterintuitive, by cutting down on mileage (and focusing that time on resting and healthy living), runners are ready to go, and are at their peak shape.
Although I have a cold and sound like a man who has been smoking for 30 years, the good news is that I don't have to go running again until Tuesday. I did my recovery run today (2.6 miles, and that took a lot of effort), I'll cross-train tomorrow, and then 6-7 on Tuesday. By Tuesday, I should be almost done with the cold. Lots of rest, fluids, and Robitussin DM in the meanwhile...