4 weeks and counting!!

I think something fell from the sky and clunked me on the head because 4 weeks from now I'll be participating (notice how I didn't say running) in the Walt Disney World Half Marathon again. But at least I won't be going it alone, I've conned another friend into doing it with me. It'll be his first half marathon so hopefully he'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed my first.

In preparing for this, I started thinking back to how I got ready for the last one and what I learned in the past. Obviously, I didn't learn to stop doing these crazy things!

The first link is from a previous blog post. It's What I Learned From Marathon Weekend.

http://wewantstheredhead.blogspot.com/2009/01/what-i-learned-from-marathon-weekend.html


The second link is a guide that a friend of mine over at Running Of The Ears put together. Print it out and read over it. There is a ton of great information in it.

http://www.runningoftheears.com/images/WDW-MarathonTips.pdf

I would like to add to pack your running shoes, clothes, anything you want on race day into your carry on. You don't want to end up at the airport with no luggage and realize that all your gear was in your suitcase. Or if you don't have room, ship it down UPS so you can track it. Make sure you give it more than enough time to get there. And remember that UPS will be closed New Years Day so if you're in California make sure you allow enough time. I've done this before, not with my clothes but with my extras. In the past, I've shipped G2, Power Bars, blankets, hat, pretty much anything that wasn't going to fit in my suitcase or that I didn't want to take up space with.

Remember, race day is different than a training day. Your adrenaline is pumping and there is about 20,000 or more people around you. How you feel and how you run on a training day will differ on race day. I know last year I ended up with some bad blisters at mile 3 and the whole time I trained I never had one blister. So be prepared! Pack all the essentials. Better to have it and never use it than need it later. That means extra safety pins, band aids, moleskin, first aid tape, Ace bandages, pain relievers, Imodium ( you never know what can happen that morning). If you think you need it...PACK IT! Especially different shoes for afterwards. Take your sandals or flip flops. You're feet will love that after a 13 or 26 mile race that they aren't stuffed in sneakers.

The biggest thing to remember is TO HAVE FUN!!! You're friends aren't going to care what your time is or what place you came in. As long as you have fun doing what you're doing, that's all that matters! That should be a warning to my friend, we're going to have so much fun that you're head is going to explode!