Sunday, October 29, 2006

Final Countdown

I had promised not to run on Friday if it was raining. Well, I got up in time, got dressed, put on my shoes, opened the door, noticed the lashing rain, and closed it again. There is no point risking a cold so close to the marathon and I bagged the entire workout. It means I’ll have 3 days of 0 before the start, which will hopefully leave me rested rather than rusty. I probably needed some extra rest, because as Mike pointed out, the dress rehearsal should have been 7 miles with 2 miles at MP, rather than 7 miles at MP. Oops! Because I’m not really following the program this week, I hadn’t checked the schedule at all, and just remembered something about 7 miles and MP. Oh well. I didn’t quite reach MP during the run anyway; I just tried to ease into that pace over 7 miles. It probably was a worthwhile workout anyway, because it taught me to get into marathon pace naturally without pushing the effort.

We drove up to Dublin yesterday morning, and apart from the fact that it was raining most of the time, it was rather unremarkable. The problem, as ever, were the kids. Lola came into our room just after 5am, and wanted to know if it was time to go to Dublin yet. We managed to persuade her that this was not the case, but at 6am Cian came in and demanded to go, and that was the end of any hopes for more sleep. Surprisingly I managed 3 hours of sleep yesterday afternoon, after we arrived, but that also meant I couldn’t fall asleep until after midnight at bedtime. Thankfully for once the kids let us sleep for 8 hours, and that will do me. I don’t expect to sleep much the night before the marathon.

My biggest worry is still the state of my legs. My left hamstring and right quads are still as painful as ever, and I guess it’s a bit late to expect some major improvement. To compound matters, I did some stretching yesterday, which I felt necessary after the long drive, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of my left leg. I immediately stopped stretching of course, and feared to worst, but today the area seems fine, so I might just about have got away with it. Phew.

The weather forecast is a bit confused, it very much depends on who you believe. Met Éireann predict a windy day with heavy rain, according to the Irish Times it will be cloudy and damp with spells of rain, heaviest and steadiest early in the day, wunderground are promising a clear day, and Accuweather are opting for a cloudy day. The one thing they seem agree is that it will be around 10C/50F up to 14C/57F, which means I will probably give the singlet a miss, and will most likely wear a t-shirt.

Thanks very much for all the good wishes, and I will try to deliver on all the high expectations. You guys and gals are really great.

9 comments:

  1. A remarkable journey for you Thomas...one that I have enjoyed following all these weeks. I'll be thinking of you out there. Good luck breaking 3:30 - it's in you - the heart of a champion.

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  2. Thomas,
    I'll be thinking of you - hoping for no pain, and lots of speed!

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  3. Thomas, the very best of luck, not that you need luck, you have put in all the hard work and it isn't luck that has got you this far, it is very hard work! Well done..no matter what the outcome! Hope your aches and pains disappear along with the miles...

    Looking forward to reading the race report!

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  4. Best of luck tomorrow Thomas. Thanks for all your advice and support over the weeks. I just know you're going to have a great race. Enjoy it. See you in Kennedys after the race.

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  5. Thomas good luck!!! have a great race, and from what I've heard, you're off to an outstanding race!!!

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  6. Best of luck today, Thomas!

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  7. Best of luck today, Thomas!

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  8. Best of luck today, Thomas!

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