FIVE DAYS OUT

Well, the marathon is almost here. I can't believe we are only five days out. Like every other marathon I've ran, I wish it was another month away, but I am ready. Early on in my marathon training this year I wasn't sure how ready I would end up being, and despite some lapses in my schedule, I think I prepared myself pretty well. Time to go leave it all out there and see what happens.

One concerning thing at this point is the weather. High of 78 on Sunday and it looks like an exact repeat of 2014. Last year the high on race day was 80 and the low was something like 55. Right now it is predicted a few degrees cooler, but not much. Unfortunately, if this holds, it will be a little warm. Not terribly warm, but not ideal conditions. Overcast and 55 would be ideal for a marathon.

Anyways, it looks like the weather will be dry. We are still far enough out that the forecast could change though. I'm hoping those clouds predicted on Friday and Saturday move into the region slower than anticipated and linger into Sunday. The forecast on Saturday looks just about perfect for the marathon, similar to my first Portland Marathon in 2013. We'll see!

Did four miles at 10:00/mile yesterday at run group. I'll probably do three tomorrow and then rest up until the marathon. Love the taper. I just start to freak out every time I think about the marathon. My strategy to remain calm is remind myself it doesn't suck until about mile 20. Then you just have to slog through 50 minutes of feeling terrible. Less than an hour. Totally doable.