Four Days 'Til Showtime

Four days left. The game plan is set. Carb loading…if you can count the extra half-bagel I ate this morning…is in full swing. Actually, I’m not very much into eating gargantuan meals before a big race. (Didn’t the nutrition expert mention in the Nova Challenge that you only need an extra 2000 or so during the marathon?!) The way I see it, your body is going to absorb whatever it’s going to absorb and eating more just makes you poop more, no? And if you have a fast metabolism like me, whatever goes in seemingly just comes right out. So what’s the point? I know I’m hitting the wall at mile 20 no matter what, and I’m not foolish enough to think that keeping a reverse-Atkins diet for a few days is a silver bullet to marathoning success. I am just going to my normal meals, plus a little extra and just trust my GI tract to do its thing.

What I do believe in wholeheartedly however, is proper hydration before race day. For that, I’m buying a full bottle of Poland Springs each day on my way to work and not letting myself leave the office until the bottle is empty and the pee test is clean. I’ve also asked my office mates to make sure I’m taking sips at least every 30 minutes. They’re all having so much fun with this. They all want to pretend like it’s some warped out drinking game or an initiation project at a college fraternity.

Anyway, the rest of the week is going to be hectic. Tomorrow will be my very last training run…probably going by the finish line as a final dress rehearsal. Friday will be expo day, where I’m hoping to pick up a pace bracelet, and give, I mean, get a few autographs from some elite runners. Saturday will be about the Olympic trials in the morning, rest and packing in the afternoon, and big pasta dinner with my training buddies (not my idea, but it’s tradition) at night. Sunday morning, I hope to be up at five for my trek to the starting line in Staten Island.

Weather should be good for race day: 40s-50s, partly sunny, so I’m excited. Oh look, I probably just jinxed myself. Rain, now there’s definitely going to be rain.