Here goes nothing!

Wow - I cannot believe I am running the Madison Marathon today! I must admit I am a WEE BIT nervous about the whole situation. OK, maybe more than a wee bit. :) Have I trained enough? I keep telling myself I will be fine. I plan to run with the 3:50 group. My first marathon was a 3:53 off less training. I can DO this.

I met rootsrunner and sistergoldenhair yesterday. What nice people! It was a real joy to meet them. I had a nice run with roots, then we all grabbed lunch and sat outside the state capital and enjoyed our lunch in perfect Wisconsin weather.

The weather forecast has been very iffy during the last week. First it looked like it was going to be very warm - 60s at start, 80 at finish. Then it looked like it would be slightly cooler, but thunderstorms with very high winds and hail. Now (at 5:00 am, 2 hours before the start), the birds are chirping and the sky is crystal clear. The projected high at 11:00 is mid-60s, with the thunderstorms holding off until the afternoon. So it looks like it may be a really good day for a race.

My main concern is that I still have not completely shaken this nasty head cold - although it is much better. My HR is up quite a few beats. Hopefully the good sleep I have gotten the last couple of nights will help.

This is my first marathon where I did not stay in a hotel the night before. Sleeping in my own bed was a real positive. As was getting up and having my coffee ready to go. But I did find some negatives to staying local. When you travel for a race, the race is the focus for the weekend. I found I thrive on that. Getting focused is really good. Staying local it seems everyone around me forgot I was racing this weekend and that it WAS a big deal to me even though I had not trained like mad for a PR. That can be difficult. While I admittedly quite haphazardly decided to run and "train" for this race, the last few days leading up to the race were just as nerve-racking as any other marathon I have run. In some sense even more so since I do not feel as prepared as I usually do.

But enough on that. The truth is race weekend is very personal and especially after it gets to be commonplace, you can't expect others to feel it too. And I actually feel quite selfish for allowing the marathon to consume me this weekend. But it is what it is. I feel good this morning and despite my nerves, I am excited! Today, I race! Yay! I really did not think I would pull a marathon off this spring.

My official "plan" is to run with the 3:50 group. If I feel good around the half, I will pick it up. If not, I will just stick with them the entire route. I was thinking earlier in the week that I may go for a faster pace, but looking at my HR this week, that seems like a dumb move on my part. I am thinking a 3:45 at the end of the day would be fun (my BQ for 2009). I am already qualified for 09 with a 3:26, but a BQ always feels good, right?! ;) All in all, it is all somewhat unknown, so I am going to try to go with it and see what the day brings. Best case scenario will be a really fun race, no matter the time. Key goal = no wall and a smile at the finish.

I'll report back later. Thanks so much for all of the well wishes!!