Last training run

I did 4 yesterday and 3 today. I have to admit that it was a little weird knowing that the next time I put on the shoes, shorts and shirt it will be "go time" for the marathon. I'm 80% certain that I didn't do too much damage to my training by missing some training over Christmas and New Years, but we'll reserve total judgment for the "post 26" blog. I'm more concerned about the weather. All winter long I've been training under the assumption that a freak snow storm would hit the day of the marathon. It rained two years ago and last year was very cool, so the last thing on my mind was how to prepare for a hot day. It's supposed to be 75 on Sunday.

Now I'm sure you are saying something like "Dummy, it's Arizona!!! Hot is par for the course." Well, again, it's been very mild this winter. As well, most of my runs start at 5 am, which means that I've been training in a temperature range of 37-44 degrees every morning. As well, I usually escape the sun, as it's not up before 7:30. Also, I ask you to consider that my long runs also start early and tend to be no hotter than 60 degrees at the end of the run. The marathon starts at 7:40 (the sun will be up) and I don't plan to be off the course before 12:20 (mid day heat). So here's my strategy to beat the heat:

I'm going to avoid, at all costs, the Cytomax "fruit punch" electrolyte drink served at the Marathon. Gag. Choke. Spit. If you want to try some, you can pick it up at your local WalMart, Target, or Safeway...ummm nuff said. I've decided to take my CamelBak 50 on the run with me and I'll fill it with a little extra HEED (my electrolyte drink of choice) and some Perpetuem (fuel so I don't start to cannibalizing my musles). I'll get an even larger and more boring list of pre-race stuff up here after I go to the Expo tomorrow.

Now get back to work...