When Appropriate

Spectators are an interesting crew (a crew which I strongly encourage you to join next Sunday). All walks of life can cheer you on—including those who may not be familiar with marathoning. So, it makes sense that the marathon organization would put together a "spectators guide" to clue people in on all the complexities of the marathon. (You can download the guide here: 2009 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend Spectator's Guide )

While paging through the guide, I came across a rather perplexing statement. On the page where they give suggestions on what to cheer, is this one:

Welcome to St. Paul! (when appropriate)

This marathon does go through 2 cities, the second one being St. Paul, so putting the wording "when appropriate" makes sense on some levels. But, I imagine the circumstances that led to the inclusion of this directive went something like this:

The first time the marathon published a spectator's guide, it included the suggestion of cheering "Welcome to St. Paul". Some kind-hearted, and most likely over-exuberant, spectator read this, and after they set up somewhere around Lake Calhoun (which is in Minneapolis), they cheered wildly: "WELCOME TO ST. PAUL!! WELCOME TO ST. PAUL!!" Most of the runners were probably scratching their heads, and so were the nearby spectators. The next year, the spectator's guide included this: "Welcome to St. Paul! (when appropriate)"

TC Marathon Countdown: 7 days

Dances with Squirrels

I must have done something to anger the squirrels in Minnesota. There seems to be a concerted and extremely effective effort by the squirrel community to attack me. On my 20 miler a few weeks ago, a squirrel leapt at my head from the top of a fence. Only quick action on my part assured that he didn't actually hit me. Today, though, I wasn't so lucky. I was running on Summit, and noticed a group of cyclists going down the road. As my gaze returned to what was in front of me, a squirrel scurried across the sidewalk, and threw a fast-acorn at me. Having no time to react, the acorn hit me just millimeters to the right of my right eye.

No more long runs left in the training plan. The race is drawing nigh.

TC Marathon Countdown: 8 days

In Range

I hope things stay this optimistic…

TC Marathon Countdown: 9 days.

Tapering

Since my 20 miler, I've been involved in a process known as tapering. The running gurus tell me that by reducing mileage in the 3 weeks preceding the marathon, my muscles will recover and I'll feel great on the big day. I think it's just a way to keep getting runs in as the amount of daylight dwindles. Either way, a "long run" is now 12 or 8 miles, and the Thursday before the marathon I'll run a whopping 2 miles. 2 miles is almost not worth getting up for anymore.

Only 12 days until the marathon. I'm waiting in fearful anticipation of the day when the 10-day forecast includes marathon weekend. Will it be hot, cool, rainy, sunny…snowy? (This is Minnesota after all). I've got my participant's guide and I think I'm set with all my gear. All that's really left now is to eat more carbohydrates than one would think possible, and then run the marathon.

If you're in the Twin Cities on Oct. 4, it would be fantastic if you could take a little while to come down to the course and cheer me (and everyone else) on. Would you rather watch Sunday morning talk shows or 11,000 runners in the beautiful setting of the Twin Cities before church? I think the answer is quite obvious… ;)

Whether you're in the Cities or not, you'll be able to track me in real time the day of the marathon. It even shows where I am on the course (well, a lot of it is extrapolation, but assuming I don't get lost, it should be pretty accurate). I'll post the details of how to do this once the day draws near, but until then, you can always check out the spectators page on the marathon website for all kinds of fun information. The website is here: http://www.mtcmarathon.org/Spectators/index.cfm

TC Marathon Countdown: 12 days

The light at the end of the tunnel.

A lot has happened since my last update. I passed the 1 month left point, and this past week I reached the pinnacle of the training program. Dealing with a bit of injury, I had to take a couple days off, but today I did the big 20 miler. Yup, 20 miles. In such a long run, many things can happen. Things such as…

…being attacked by a squirrel.

…eating lots of Gu. (Tri-Berry is a good flavor. Plain, not so much)

…having Katie ride her bike and replenish my water supply.

…running through a balloon arch for some 5k that was about to start.

…hitting the wall. Yes, it's as unpleasant as they say. Like really.

…forgetting what comes after the number 34, and spending 20 seconds trying to remember.

The taper begins this week, so that means 3 weeks until the marathon. Oh boy…

TC Marathon Countdown: 22 days.