To Phoenix

The time is near.

This taper was certainly not what I had in mind, but it's what I have to work with. My legs are fresh as daisies, but by God I still am feeling the tendonitis.

I ran an easy 6.5 on Monday and felt it then. Damn it.

On Tuesday I ran around the NIH. I intended to run 2 miles at marathon pace, but scoffed at the idea because my foot was still trouble. Two miles in, however, I looked at my watch and changed my mind - I was running 5:29 pace already! I kept it up for a mile (5:28) then another (5:15) then cooled down back to the Fox Den. While negotiating my way around puddles on the Rock Creek Trail, I still found myself running 5:50 pace for the next two miles. I am definitely ready.

The plan on race day is as follows: 5:55, 5:50, 5:45...then hit half marathon in 1:13:30. I'm prepared to hit 13.1 in 1:12:30, but I don't really want to be much faster than that. I also won't panic if I hit the halfway point a few ticks north of 1:14. By 20 I want to start moving. Easier said than done, I know, but, like Patrick Reaves did at Boston in 2008, I want to "punch through" the wall and be able to hammer the last 10k, as best as I can. I've trained this way.

I'm prepared to run this race as if it's my last. I always think that before a major race, but this time it is different. This time it's personal...it's the Catalina Wine Mixer, I mean the..marathon.

Off to Phoenix.