It sure has been a warm couple of mornings out there training as I get ready to wrap up this training cycle prior to my last spring marathon on 6/13. I formally head into my 10-day taper, which offers some lighter recovery runs with no real speed work or anything. The biggest difference is the cutback in miles. I’ve been happy with the fast that despite my awful weekend of eating, I managed to still lose 2 more pounds, which will definitely help me in my next race.

The time has come to start planning the summer though and how I’ll approach the fall race season. It will be a little different since I’m running such a late spring race and an early fall race, there is only 12-13 weeks between them plus I want to relax a little in there. The good thing is that I’m in great shape for this time of year compared to other years .. like for example, last year at this time I was struggling to get a 15 mile long run in and was struggling with my weight. I feel better than I think i’ve overcome that now and are being positive for the fall..

So I ask myself, what is the goal for the marathon on the 13th? Well, first, I think its to have fun. I’ve had 2 serious races this spring already, by serious I mean larger races that are out of town .. this is just a downhome local race, I can even sleep in my own bed. I believe the field is only 250 marathoners and 250 half marathoners .. so 500 people total is quite a small race. The post-race festival and the fun along the course seems like fun and the course doesn’t appear to be overly challenging (as far as hills go). I did notice that they said most of the course is shaded since we’re running along tow-paths along the river .. that could be a good thing to keep my body temperature down, if there is one thing I don’t like, its running in the direct sunlight.

If I pull off a 4:05 finish, i’ll be happy. I think I can do it, I’ve been training pretty hard and feel pretty good, the only thing I get concerned about is hydration. It will be warm, regardless of whether the sun is present or not, maybe the only chance to avoid a warm day is if it rains, and that opens up other challenges (yeah, i remember the Flying Pig).

I’m looking forward to an easy weekend and an easy week next week … things are hectic all around right now, so running is keeping my sanity (as it always has). My favorite time of the year is here, and Wednesday really reminded me of that as I headed out at 5am with the sun just coming up, the birds chirping and the overall peacefulness that comes with it
all, I love summer.