All my finger- and toe-nails are clipped and my calluses are shaved. My denial-o-meter is turned up – my assorted aches, pains, sniffles, and sneezes are officially Not A Problem. Taper is over. It’s time to run a marathon.
I’m currently rotating two fairly fresh pairs of Asics GEL-Hyperspeed 4s. The normal rotation had me wearing pair #15 today and #16 on Sunday. I put the 15s on this morning, and they felt especially lively on my feet – light, snug, and secure, and just oozing with flexibility, responsiveness, and bounce. They wanted to run, and they wanted to run fast.
Out of curiosity, I changed into the 16s. They were OK, but compared to the 15s they were just shoes, not willing partners in a great adventure.
Shoes have tongues, but they’re usually quiet. When inanimate objects talk, it’s wise to listen. The 15s are traveling to the Cape with me for Sunday.
Today is packing day. I’ve loaded my gear bag with everything I might need for the race (I hope):
- Running shoes (pair #15) and shoe inserts
- Socks
- Blister prevention (bandaids & toe cap)
- Calf panties (aka “compression sleeves”)
- Red jock strap, used solely for races
- Shorts
- Yellow SRR singlet
- Nipple caps (bandaid dots)
- Visor
- Prescription sunglasses
- Garmin GPS & HRM strap
- Pills (Prednisone, Celebrex, Sudafed, Tylenol, electrolytes)
- GU x6 (3 with caffeine, 3 with 2x caffeine)
- Small waist belt for GU and pills
- Asthma inhaler
- Body glide
- Pen for writing splits on my number
- Extra safety pins
And a cooler with race morning supplies:
- Banana, oatmeal, and blueberries in case there’s no early-morning breakfast spot
- Gatorade
Someone is Falmouth has to have coffee.
Just in case the storm moves in quicker than projected, I’m bringing:
- Nylon vest, wicking cap, & long-sleeve wicking shirt
- Sleeveless wicking shirt
- Arm-warmers (gym socks with the toes cut open)
I’m assuming the forecast is reasonably close to the actual temperature and leaving the real cold-weather gear at home.
I’ve printed out:
- My registration confirmation
- A course map
- Directions to the hotel, restaurant, the expo/number pickup, and the house that Jessie and Urvi rented to share with a group from SRR.
I’ve got some additional gear for hanging-around time:
- Camera
- iPhone & headphones
- Kindle & light
- Laptop & microphone headset (blogger’s gotta blog)
- Post-run hoodie and hemp pants
- My personal pillow (better for my neck than a hotel pillow)
And of course, I’ll also have some normal, non-running clothes, the usual toiletries, and my jacket. And some books. Wanna buy a book?
The Sunday forecast for Falmouth continues to deteriorate as the weekend approaches. The worst weather is still probably at the end of the day, but we’re up to 26 MPH winds and rain has entered the picture.
Typically, the prevailing wind on the Cape is from the west. The course was designed with that in mind. There are a lot of open areas with little protection from the wind, but in those areas a west wind is a tail wind. Where a west wind is a head wind, runners are protected by trees and growth.
Hurricanes are not typical weather. The wind from Hurricane Sandy is supposed to swirl in from the northeast. Thus we have today’s inspirational reading from the Books of Bokonon:
We do, doodley do, doodley do, doodely do,
What we must, muddily must, muddily must, muddily must;
Muddily do, muddily do, muddily do, muddily do,
Until we bust, bodily bust, bodily bust, bodily bust.