Tomorrow is the Phoenix Marathon. I picked up my bib (number 3929) in the afternoon at the finish line (in Riverside Shopping Center in Mesa). I met Elizabeth and picked up her bib too. Erin was to run using Elizabeth’s bib but she just txt’d me that she has back spasms. Ouch! I hope she recovers fast.
I have targeted doing the half marathon in around 1:41. The plan is run the first couple of miles at an 8-minute pace and then pick it up for the next 7 to 8 miles before going all out for the last 3 miles. If my plan works, I should average around 7:45 per mile giving me a finish time of 1:41 or so.
I plan to wear a simple blue Lulu Lemon top, my favorite blue shorts, my favorite M-Dot visor and my black Saucony Kinvara shoes. My play-list on my iPod is carefully choreographed to give me a cadence of just about 90 steps per minute. I plan to eat a Stinger just before the start of the race and then eat 3 Gatorade Endurance gels every 40 minutes.
This is a “B” race for me but I feel pretty good about it. I hope to get some sleep tonight, but it is not very likely. Nerves!