7 Days

The final countdown has begun.  With 7 days until race day, our training is in the bank and our taper is in full swing.  That doesn't mean that we don't run or train, just that there's nothing more that we can do now that will help us on race day--if we haven't done it by now, it's too late!  In fact, we have to be careful that we don't do things that will hurt us on race day from here on out. 

...Try to avoid being around anyone who-might-possibly-remotely-slightly-could-be-or-could-have-been-sick-or-feeling-the-least-bit-"iffy"-lately (sorry, no, I don't want to shake your hand at church or have you up in my "space" at work)...Stop eating anything that we know might give us issues before or on race day...Get as much rest as is humanly possible and still hold down a job...and so on.  You get the idea.  We may get a little "paranoid", but who wouldn't if you'd put in as much time and effort over the past 12 weeks--not to mention the previous time and effort it took us to qualify for Boston in the first place! (Although, anytime I get close to race day, this is my mind-set...It's just magnified for Boston.)

So, for the next 7 days, in addition to my regular "day" job (because I can't yet make a living at this running thing, and won't ever, because, well, I'm a little older than is ideal and--perhaps more obvious--I'm not nearly fast enough!), my life will look like this:  I will...
1)  do my scheduled runs (for a grand total of 16 whopping miles this week), including an abbreviated regular speedwork session with my Runners Edge of the Rockies speedwork group,
2)  make lists of what to pack...what to pack for race day, including the clothing and other items that I'll need for the wait in Hopkinton, what I'll need to keep with me (or on) until just a few minutes before the start (which means I'll be discarding some stuff that will be collected and donated to charities), entire sets of weather-specific clothing options for the actual race, the electronics (Garmin), nutrition (gels), geetah straw (although I think we decided to call it a Wise straw on our last long run...) and anything else needed for the duration of the race, clothes for changing into immediately post-race if necessary (again, weather specific), what to pack for post-race recovery, and what to pack for the days I actually might need to be presentable in public.  And running shoes.  Perhaps the most important. Remember the running shoes!
3) Then I'll stage and pack all of that stuff, being deliberate to either wear the items I can't run without or put them into my carry-on bag that I won't let go from my hot little hands.  (Another RER Boston-bound peep advised wearing the running shoes I'd wear for the race, since he'd had his carry-on taken from him one year and it never made it! Yikes!)
4)  Get a massage.  A deep-tissue "tune up" massage.  This, of course, is to be done by the one and only person I trust for it nowadays: the amazing Karen Kalbach.  (Hint:  You really should go see Karen if you regularly train for long-distance running.  Caveat: You and I will be fine just as long as I can get in to see her! :-)  )
5)  Obsess over the weather in Boston, knowing full well that all predictions could go completely out the window on race day morning when we're headed out to Hopkinton!
6)  Rest...'nuf said.
7)  Get the proper nutrition (no, you can't eat like crap and then expect to "carb-up" the night before the marathon.  It doesn't work like that. Thanks to Nancy Pudwill for her guidance in the nutrition arena!)
8) Make reservations for wherever we think we might want to eat while in Beantown.  (I'll have a kitchenette, so will have some control over my food, but we can't possibly go to Boston and not patronize some of their eating establishments!)
9)  Visit the expo, pick up my official bib, hopefully meet some of the elites who will be racing (see http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/event-information/2011-elite-field.aspx for more details) including CU graduate Kara Goucher.

And, finally (well, there are probably more things to list, but I'll cap it at ten)...

10) Buy that bottle of champagne for post-race celebration.  (Hey, it's either post-race celebration or post-race condolences, and I'm going to think positive here!)


Boston...here we come!


Relentless Forward Motion, Ya'll...