Marathon week

I think this is the first time I have felt this excited about a full marathon.  This will be my fourth and I am really looking forward to it.  All of the marathons (fulls and halves) that I have run have been in other cities.  I have shied away from the Austin marathon because it is notoriously hilly and 26.2 miles is hard enough without obstacles.  This season I decided I would first train for the Dallas marathon so that my endurance would already be built up and the hills would be less painful.  This kind of worked lol.  I didn't train the best going into Dallas and during that race I "only" made it to mile 15 before I needed a walk break (the first time I did Dallas I was able to make it to mile 19).  Nonetheless, a 26.2 mile "training run" is under my belt.

What has really helped me mentally is the run my group did a few weeks back.  It was a 20 mile run but most of it was on the course route.  We ran from north Austin through downtown and back so the hills were on the back end of the run.  They were tough (and abundant) but actually not too bad.  The good thing is that during the actual race they are on the front end of the race so they should be even  "easier."  The last 6.2 miles of the race (bka the "second half") is downhill.  This is perfect :o).

What's also really cool is that since I live here, I truly get a perception of how far we're going.  When I ran Dallas my friend told me she couldn't believe I ran "all the way out there."  I'm familiar with the Dallas area, but I really understood what she meant after that training run.  I normally drive from North Austin to the lake here to do my long runs.  That day I ran there.  It was a phenomenal feeling.

I've been keeping an eye on the weather.  So far I'm seeing low of 55ish, high of 65ish.  This is a bit warm for a runner.  In Austin, the lows occur around 6 am so the lower the low, the better.  It's amazing what a difference a few degrees makes.  My marathon PR is 4:33 and I had on a hat, jacket, gloves, and hand warmers that day.  But I am grateful none of the predicted race day temps start with 7 :o).

Can't wait for Sunday!