Early this morning, Will and I headed out to Apache Junction to see the Lost Dutchman Marathon and Half Marathon. We met up with Kristi who was there to cheer on Eric for the half. Our real agenda was to drive the Phoenix Marathon course which begins in Usery Pass not far from the Lost Dutchman route. Will and I both wanted to see the Phoenix Marathon route and elevation. The overall elevation loss for the route is about 800 feet; almost all of it in the first 13 miles. The last half is pretty flat (and boring).
We Garmin’d the route so we could get the exact elevation loss and gain for each half-mile split. This will help us create race-pace for each mile, create nutrition-intake and create an overall plan to qualify for Boston. Although my chances of qualifying are not very good, I will plan meticulously and give it everything I have. If I have the perfect race with no mishaps and am able to execute the plan, I will have a chance. With less than 2 weeks to go, I already have butterflies!
Today is the last day of my rest week. I was to swim for 1,000 and run for 30 minutes. Unfortunately, MMR is closed on Sundays; hence I just ran for 30 minutes. It was nice and warm in the afternoon with a touch of humidity. It actually felt good to be hot as I ran an easy level 1-2 downhill run for about 4 miles.