THE DAY BEFORE THE MARATHON

Here we are, the day before the Toledo Marathon. The Moment of Truth is one day away. Will our difficult winter training pay off?--those days of running ten to fourteen miles into winds that took the temperature below zero. Will those exhausting long runs, those eighteen and twenty milers make a difference? Can I accomplish my mid-range goal of breaking 3:30 in order to confidently qualify for Boston? Will I be able to eclipse the more challenging goal of running under 3:20 and possibly place in my 55 to 59 age group?

Today these questions are running through my mind. The answers will definitely be influenced by decisions I make today and early tomorrow morning. Decisions, decisions, decisions--simple decisions like what will I wear? What will I eat? What pace should I go out at?

I took a look at the weather for tomorrow morning in Toledo on weather.com. Race time: 7:00 a.m.-- 40 degrees and 8 mph winds. Finishing time: approximately 10:30 a.m--44 degrees and 10 mph winds. For me, the conditions are almost perfect except for the wind, which isn't that bad. Right now my decision is to wear a mirco-mesh short-sleeve shirt. It will be cold, especially if the wind kicks up, but I'm worried that a long-sleeve shirt would contribute to more dehydration.

Right now my most difficult decision is what shoes to wear. My racing flats are like feathers but don't provide much support. My training shoes are at least twice as heavy as my racing flats but have plenty of cushion and support. Right now I am leaning toward my light racing flats, knowing how heavy my legs got on the long training runs.

What to eat? I definitely don't want to overeat today. I had a light breakfast of waffles and coffee. We will eat at a restaurant, probably in Dover, Ohio at lunchtime. I think I'll get some kind of pasta dish. This evening a big family dinner is planned at my daughter-in-law's brother's house in Toledo. I'm sure there will be plenty of great runner food there because six of us are running the next day. However, I need to be careful not to overload, leaving too much undigested food in my system. I'll try to dish out medium portions. For breakfast tomorrow morning I plan on bagels with peanut butter and jelly two hours before the race.

Pacing? To break 3:20 I need to average 7:37. I may go out slower than that the first couple of miles and then slowly catch up to that pace halfway through. I'm sure the crowd will help to keep me from allowing the adrenalin rush to take over. Running too fast in the early miles would definitely be a tactical error I would pay dearly for later in the race.

I hope to post my results sometime tomorrow afternoon on this blog and on Facebook. Thanks to all of you who took this journey with me. If I don't qualify for Boston, this will be my next to last post. If I do qualify, I'll keep posting until I make it to the Big Show. Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Happy running,

Joe C. Ellis