Some additional running advice

The weather went from being beautiful yesterday to being icky this morning. Icky to the point that I didn't want to run outside.

And in case you were wondering, my butt went from hurting yesterday to not hurting this morning.

So with all of that, I went to LeFittes this morning for a treadmill run. I wanted to get one last run in today before the 1/2 marathon on Sunday. So I did my incline/decline run.

While I was on the treadmill, I realized how many commercials there are during the Today Show. It was getting frustrating so I turned on the trusty iPod nano and finished the run.

During yesterday's run and during this morning's run I realized I have not given ALL of the advice that is stored in my head. So here is some more and it is aimed at the people running the marathon on Sunday.

Give yourself plenty of time to get the George R. Brown Convention Center and find parking. Last year I parked in the Toyota Center garage and didn't have a problem. Be sure to take plenty of dollar bills with you in case you decide to park on a surface lot and have to put the money in a slot.

If you have people who will be waiting for you to complete the run be sure that they know where to meet when it is over. There will a designated reunion area.


If you have a crew along the route, be sure to do the electronic tracking notification. It can be found on the marathon website.

If you have a crew, be sure that they have whatever supplies you anticipate you might need (i.e. Gu, Vaseline, Body Glide, orange slices, Clif Bars, Power Bars, Ibuprofen, Gatorade, Water). It's better to get these on Saturday than to have them your crew running around on Sunday.

At the packet pick-up on Friday & Saturday you will see all types of vendors and all different types of great deals on shoes and running attire. If you buy something new, don't wear it on Sunday. Surely you have your lucky outfit. (On Sunday I will be wearing my duck socks.)

Run your own race. Don't change your race strategy on Sunday morning. You have trained all of these months to prepare for Sunday. You know what to do. Unless you are an elite runner there is a distinct possibility you may have to walk at some point during the 26.2 miles. That's ok. Don't worry about it. When I went to run Big Sur I Knew it wouldn't be a record performance for me because of all of the hills. When I had to walk, I was fine with it. When else would I have the chance to run on the Pacific Coast Highway? I enjoyed the scenery and took pictures along the way.

Drink plenty of water & sports drinks along the way but don't over hydrate.

I'll say it once again, have fun! See you out on the course on Sunday.

EDIT: Things I forgot to tell you. 1. Before you go to bed on Saturday night, get your gear together and lay it out. 2. Dress for the end of the run and/or layer with throw away clothes. It may feel good to be all bundled up while it is 42 degrees Fahrenheit but if it gets to 58 degrees Fahrenheit toward the end of the run, you gonna be hot. 3. Don't eat a bunch of fiber and roughage on Saturday. You will pay for that on Sunday.