Race Weekend!!

It has finally arrived - The San Francisco Marathon race weekend!  I'm really stoked for this race, as I had an amazing time running the 2nd half last year and will be taking it on again Sunday!  It is the easier of the two halves and quite fast, which makes me think of some great time goals that I want to tackle.  I have an A, B, & C goal in my head, and I will share them with you on Monday - I don't want to jinx myself!  But let's just say, I'm hoping that my speed work during this training schedule will have paid off.  I'm in the first wave and it starts in beautiful Golden Gate park winding your way down through the city and finally to the official marathon finish on the Embarcadero.  I have my family coming to cheer me on and that always makes my legs run just a little faster :)

And this afternoon I get to go and pick up Jill at the airport!  She's coming in for the full and I'm anticipating some fun shenanigans as I show her around the city, go for a run at the Marina and check out the Expo together.  After the race she'll be heading back down to my pad to relax and play until Tuesday!  Should be good times!  Lots of other Bay Area peeps are running and there is a meet up planned for tomorrow at the Expo.  It will be a fun weekend but I'm anticipating I will need a vacation from all the fun!

My running this week as been so-so.  I scaled back on my training plan mileage to do a mini-taper for this weekend.  I ran every day this week, including one speed workout yesterday but just really cut back the mileage.  I will run today and probably take tomorrow off to rest my little legs.  I really want to do well and use the race as a way to asses where my fitness and speed are.  Yes, there are many hills on the course, but as I have been telling others, if you run the hills conservatively and then use the downhills and flat sections to really kick up the speed you should be fine and blow away your expectations as this being a "hard" course.  Since there is a constant change in elevation and running surface, your legs actually do pretty well.  Good luck this weekend to everyone running - especially L.B. who is tackling the full!  You're going to awesome buddy!  Can't wait to see you at the finish!

Don't forget to enter my SCAPE giveaway!  And remember, there is an extra little somthin' - somethin' for the person who tells me what an awesome job they do at keepin' the sun at bay while on the run!

Good luck to all the racers at SF this weekend and everyone else hitting the starting line - run fast, run strong and have FUN!

Happy Running and Happy Friday peeps!