One day to go!

I expo-ed it up on Thursday (and PS, those artificially cocoa flavored almonds in the goodie bag were pretty good, I thought. Not to mention the multiple Gatorade protein shake samples I drank. Chocolate!)

I've been carbing it out all week.

This morning we had the International Duffy Friendship Run, meaning Kiernan, Mr. Duffy & I took a nice, easy two miles, with the ease of the pace dictated by Mr. Duffy's (who is not a runner) ability to speak in full paragraphs. Hooray!!!

Crazy agitation has given way to a mild zen state. I have lists for the bag to bring to Staten Island, the bag to give to the Duffy men to have for me at the finish, and the meeting spots and projected times that I should get to those spots on the course. I have all of my dinner supplies (see Queens Half, lessons learned.) I have my clothes and weather forecasts and race day nutrition and everything all lined up. All I lack is my Sunday Times for reading before the start. I am re-reading A Race Like No Other. I saw but did not interact with both Liz Robbins, the author of said book, and Bart Yasso at the expo. I am marathon-ed out.

Simply put, I finally feel totally ready.

GOOD LUCK!!!

This is a no good horrible very bad day.

First, I wake to a job half-done by husband man, and this makes me cranky, but not in an overt, I will now tell you that I'm cranky kind of way. No, this was a private cranky. But husband man, somehow sensing the impending crankiness, assumes that it is an entirely different brand of cranky altogether and thus begins to press me about the cause of said crankiness. When it comes out that his half-assery is the cause of said crank, shouting ensues. No good horrible morning.

Then, I head to the vet with Miko puppy, who had a small tumor removed from her leg (for a gazzillion dollars) last week. She needs to get her stitches checked, and it shouldn't cost any money, because we were assured that the follow up would be included. However, she needs an antibiotic shot because the incision looks a little sore, and a doggy anti-inflammatory, for a total of about $75. What? People Tylenol is $4. Why is dog Tylenol $35?

THEN I go to Trader Joes to buy carby things because I am, after all, in the midst of a stress-free taper, but NO! It is NOT STRESS FREE! Because at Trader Joe's I am overdrawn and need to call husband man to transfer money from checking to savings. VERY BAD!

To top it off, I go to pick up Kiernan from school and we stop to get some seltzer and gatorade (we're a house of seltzer drinking people - what can I say?) and it's overdrawn AGAIN. On like a $19 charge. WTF??? And it turns out some mystery automatic payment was actually taken out fo our account without my knowledge because my husband set it up that way without telling me, and we is BROKE ASS MUTHAS. Mostly because of the gazzillion dollars to the vet, but also the husbadn unemployment thing. Which blows. Stress free my ass.

And now, I'm about to cook a pork roast, which I don't particularly care for, but which husband man bought several days ago and has not yet shown any signs of cooking, so I feel obligated to do lest it spoil (and therefore dump more $$$ down the drain.) Bah.

Horrible, no good, very bad day.

Ahhh! Six days left!!!

My weekend runs consisted of a 4 miler and a 6 yesterday, both just a tick slower than marathon pace. I feel good but a bit taper sluggish, like the books said I would. I can't tell if I'm more or less cranky because certain people around me (I'm looking at you, Mr. Duffy) are feeling high strung and making me a little crazy, and I think that's entirely un-taper-related. It is surreal that in less than a week I will be wrapped in a blanket reading the Sunday Times at the Fort Wadsworth marathoners refugee camp. I'm getting my bib at the expo Thursday - I think reality will settle in a little then.

I am sitting here unshowered after logging my morning run because the hot water spigot is not giving me anything. Nada. Zip. Bad landlord, bad!

My personal strain of the taper virus has me all worried about pace, plus feeling crazy tired and not wanting to run. I cut 4 to 2 today. I am good at rationalization, ie, "With only 10 days to go, this run can't possibly have any training effect. I can slack off! I'm tapering!" However, those miles are inevitably run a bit too fast. Of those two, mile one was marathon pace and mile two was half marathon pace - without making any conscious effort to do so, but running easy, like a jog. WTF? I think I'm rested, thank you Mr. Taper.

Now, the hot water. Where is she? Mr. Taper, help! I am stinky!

I managed to skip running ALL WEEKEND. I don't think that counts as taper. PANIC! AHH! I made my run extra long this morning to make up for it, even though that's not smart. After this I taper for real, on schedule! I'll do what they tell me! I promise!

PS I got my marathon registration for the expo in my email just now. It's real! I'm actually going there in 12 days!

PPS I realized I never changed my name on my license after I got married and now my license says different than my bib. Oh, dear. Off to the DMV with me.

Jamboree! We're off to the NYRR youth Jamboree at Icahn Stadium, where Kiernan is going to run a 400 and try the long jump (he was begging coach at the end of outdoor season and he finally gets to try it here, where 400m is the longest event and it doesn't matter.) There's an 800 for 10-12 yo, but alas, my budding teen is too old for it. It was supposed to rain horribly all day, but so far it's all cloudy blue skies.... may it hold out.

I'm supposed to fit 15 miles in somewhere this weekend and, since I didn't wake up hours early to do it right now, it looks like it'll be tomorrow in the cold pouring rain. Pray for me.

In the meantime, I can obsess about Accuweather! Hooray! The 15 day forecast is now up to Marathon-Eve (known to sane people as Halloween) and says it will be perfect - sunny, high of 50, low of 40. Yesterday, it said it might rain. Ah, obsessing!

Speaking of obsessing, I bought this book yesterday,and it started making me cry around Fort Wadsworth. I'm only to the Martin Lel section (the book traces not only the history of the race, and a play-by-play of the 2007 marathon, but also weaves in the personal stories of several elites and a few every day racers) but I'm already heartily endorsing it. I read the author, Liz Robbins, relatively frequently in the New York Times Well Blog, and I've been using the Times' cool marathon training mileage tracker, so it caught my eye as I browsed in Borders* yesterday. Just. Awesome. I bought that and Duel in the Sun; more on that eventually.

Now, oatmeal! And in an hour or two, Jamboree!

*What does it say about my reading habits that I now gravitate directly to the Sports sections and settle by the running books for half an hour every time I walk into the Borders around the corner from my office? No more buy one, get one 50% off paperbacks; no, it's all Glover and Pfitzinger and Daniels and Bowerman and the Men of Oregon for me. Does running make people less literate? Discuss.

18 days...

I'm sitting here with the heat pad on my left ankle after icing it for ten minutes. Same achilles tendon. I don't think it's anything huge, just a little aggravation from the bridle path, but better safe than sorry. I had a successful inaugural "Test Mrs. Duffy's Achilles 5k" this morning in 41 degrees. Brrrr. Got the pants and gloves out.

Still freaking out.

I just remembered something I overheard one runner say to another during my long run the other day. He said, "The hay is in the barn, buddy. Now you've just got to get to the finish line in one piece."

I am currently icing a wonky left achilles. It felt weird on Saturday and sparked right back up with the weirdness with my 4 recovery miles today.

*Frown*

Let the taper madness begin!

Oy... with all the miles logged, the work, the family, something had to give, and that something was apparently my blog. Which is fine, really, because that's my venting-running-stress thing, and I've blithely been venting my running stress to anyone who will listen for the past few weeks, so no loss on that front. Three weeks from today is the big day. Wheeee!

So, I ran my last 20 yesterday, about 3/4's of it on the bridle path in Central Park. Either I measured waaaayyy short or I did the whole thing faster than projected marathon pace. I think a little of both was in effect, and I haven't yet figured out if I am experiencing an appropriate stress level. For one thing, I felt crappy toward the last quarter (no wonder) -- but for another, not that crappy, so should I be busy revising my goal? But what if I go out too fast as is my wont? Did I leave my marathon out in CP during the run? Yadda yadda yadda, worry worry worry, my taper has officially begun. Who knew it would come on so predictably?

ANYWAY, I think my 'A' goal is 5:15. Which I'm kind of shocked that I just said out loud (so to speak; wrote out loud?). That's about a 12:00 pace, slightly (JUST slightly) faster than I just ran my last 20. McMillen thinks I can do 5:08, so in the spirit of having a conservative goal for my first race (finish? Yes, I know I can do that) I'm thinking 5:20-ish. I would be pleased with anything in the low 5:20's on down; somewhat disappointed in 5:30 plus, but it being my first, I have no idea what to predict. Again, based on that last 20 (which could have actually been more like 19.5, but I'm not sure ) I could likely hit 5:20 at training pace. I'm freaking out. Taper pace obsession. Dear lord.

SO, I don't post for a week, then kind of blather on about my goal or lack thereof. THREE WEEKS, people! It's a bit surreal.

OH, and way to go Sammy Wanjiru (2:05:41, new Chicago Marathon course record by one freaking second!) and Dathan Ritzenheim (World Half Marathon championships bronze medal, 1:00:00, 26 seconds off Ryan Hall's American half record)!!! Ritz is the man - first the new 5k record, then the first American on the World Half podium in God knows how long. Well done, Ritzy!

I've been quiet. Sorry. Running a lot (50 + this week) and busy with classes, indoor track season, etc. 28 days till the big day. I am very germ-a-phobic lately and have taken to carrying sanitizer around, but I can't seem to sanitize my child, who missed the Norway Run with a chest cold yesterday (better for him, he missed all of that rain). If I get a mild cold right now, I'm ok, but nothing any closer to race day, please.

Send vitamins! And a plastic bubble for me to live inside!