This morning reminded me that it was October by welcoming me with a 39 degree temperature as I headed out at 5:15am… today was my last real ‘run’ before the marathon on Saturday. I got in just over 8 miles, at a moderate pace, but what was funny was how depending on where I was on my course, there were pockets of cool air and then warmer air .. so I never really knew what to expect. Thats part of the issue of living in a hilly area, those pockets of cold get stuck at every downhill, its just been so long since i’ve run in the cold, I’ve forgotten it. It didn’t help that I was sweaty though either, I just have to start dressing for the season I guess, its hard to say goodbye to the summer running clothes (or lack thereof)…

Another reminder that its October is that I seem to be completing my morning runs while its still dark out .. at least a few weeks back, i’d finish and the sun would be coming up over the trees, now its not even that. The good part is that in just over 3 short weeks, i’ll get some sunlight back from the rolling back of the clocks as I finish up training for the Philly marathon late in November.

One last reminder that its October are the number of runners out and about in the mornings have picked up .. everyone must be prepping for marathons (or races). I find that in my area of the country, races are spring or fall, not much in the summer. You can always tell the marathoners vs. the shorter racers vs. the recreational runners though .. marathoners are just built uniquely (most of you know what I mean, we just have that look)..

So as I continue to take it easy from the high mileage in prep for Saturday, I’m working on the mental preparedness and planning my logistics for the weekend. I’ve been watching the weekend forecast, and for some reason, the showers they have been forecasting since I started watching it don’t seem to be going away. The only good thing is that the start temperature is looking to be mid-50’s, afternoon high at around 72 .. but we’ll take that with a grain of salt also, because if I think back to the marathon a few weeks ago, I had the same forecast, and it just didn’t pan out (and was MUCH warmer). I know, i’m breaking tip #1 that I wrote about the other day by obsessing over the weather, but i’m okay with it just being what it will be.

One good thing though is that I’m feeling confident and more ready than ever for the marathon .. definitely more prepared than I was for the last one. I’m happy knowing that I’m not shooting for any specific finish time .. and in my opinion, just to finish strong is good enough. My overall goal for the race though is to keep a 9:05 per mile pace, or somewhere around there and if I finish under 4 hours, great, if not, thats fine too .. I just want to finish happy and not suffering (like I did a few weeks ago)..

Well, off to rest .. I have a long week ahead …