Well, as I've pontificated before (does that make me a pontif?), I'm a big believer in a 3-week taper before a marathon. But I really didn't feel I got enough LSD work in before the next marathon, which is 2-weeks from tomorrow. I had a couple of 18 milers, but nothing over 20 since the Rehoboth marathon back at the end of November.

Now, this will be my seventh marathon in two years, so I have a big mileage base. But I was still concerned. But, I'm now into the 3-week taper period. So I talked this over with my coach and he told me that, essentially, I probably didn't need a 20+ mile run in. He went on to say however, that if I thought I could use the confidence that having at least one 20+, and as long as I wasn't trying to recover from any injuries, it was probably fine to have a 2-week taper.

I'm not nursing any injuries (except the obvious mental ones).So I went out this morning and did a 21 miler. Kept up a good pace throughout and finished strong. So I'm trying something new (to me) - a 2-week taper. I have a reduce-mileage plan for the next week and then just easy maintenance the next week. And then, Sunday, March 1, the B&A Trail Marathon.

I'll report back on how this works out. 

Well, I had some thoughts about heading to FL to run the Sarasota marathon, but, silly me, there are a couple of deal breakers in that weekend - Saturday is Valentines Day, and Monday is Presidents Day. So there is no good way I can go there without sacrificing my marriage -- Maybe another one someday

So I'm targeting the B&A trail marathon on March 1. Signed up and ready (pretty much). Didn't get as much speed work in as I would like, but I've done several LSDs since the Rehoboth Marathon just before thanksgiving, including a solid 18-miler this past Saturday that had tons of big hill work. So I feel good. Maybe even good enough for a PR. If the gods smile down on me

Here are my resolutions for 2009.

Stay Injury Free.

Run 4 or more Marathons, and hopefully in some new places. I ran 4 in 08. I'm currently considering the Sarasota Marathon in February, B&A Trail in March,  perhaps Flying Pig in May (or maybe Frederick again), Harrisburg or Philly or Steamtown or Rehoboth (again) in the fall. So lots of possibles that are all local. I'm signed up for the B&A, but that's it so far.

Lose another 20 pounds. I'd like to get to 190 and stay there.

Be nicer to others, especially those less well off than I am. And perhaps that should be first or second.

Happy New Year!

Ran a short trail run yesterday morning behind the Annapolis HS in the woods. Great run with nice views of the upper South River. Ran slow and only 5 miles, but my calves hurt today -- maybe the hills are more than I'm used to? Feeling better now, but I skipped my long run this morning and an hoping/planning to do the 16 planned miles tomorrow instead.

Too much Christmas food not to!

Well, I suppose I've been a slacker, but I haven't run for a week now. I guess I just needed some time off. Over the past couple of years, I've learned to listen to that feeling -- if I don't feel like running, then I don't run. I think I had a mild cold and that was keeping me down. I usually adhere to the attitude of "go out and run for 10 minutes, then either I'll feel like going on or I'll stop". But this week I haven't done even that, so I guess I really needed a break.

But I'm pumped to run again now, so my attitude is back on course and I'm rested and ready. If only the rain would stop...

I'm trying to think of all the adjectives I would use to describe this day, this run. Here are a few: beautiful, scenic, flat, windy, cold, great race management, fun volunteers, and surprisingly good crowd support. Here's the blow-by-blow.

We drove out to Rehoboth on Friday evening to pick up our race packets. We got to the Rehoboth Beach Running Company (RBRC) at around 7pm after driving through a bit of snow, got our kit and headed next door to get some dinner. Good food at Catchers. While we were eating, the snow started coming down a lot harder! Then we drove down to Bethany where we had planned to stay at my mom's place there. But when we got there, we found there was no water. So we made reservations at the Hotel Rehoboth and drove back up, checked in and went to sleep at about 11. I was constantly cold and was beginning to think I hadn't brought warm enough clothing for the run.

Next morning, we drove down to the starting area to pick up our race chips (at about 5:30) and then headed to "Crystal" restaurant for a 6am breakfast. I just had some toast - I had already downed an energy drink and felt a little full. Then we headed back to the pavilion to get ready to start.

It was quite crowded - more than I expected. Turns out they had over 600 runners signed up - only expected about 400. While in our corral, we met several runners including bib#50 - Ed Peters, who was running his final and 50th state marathon in his quest for all 50 states. What a great guy - what conviction! The sun was rising but it was still very cold and windy. But I was warm enough. 

I was surprised at the limited clothing some people were wearing. It just seemed too cold to me for shorts or a tank-top. But there were some runners dressed just like that. Mostly, folks seemed to be dressed more "appropriately" though. I say that because of what came later, when I warmed up!

So we stood around, trying to stay warm, chatting with our corral-mates and making new friends (one gal was here from Salt Lake City), when the gun went off and we all pressed towards the starting line. It took about 2 minutes to get across and get running. Lots of local crowd support there at the start - and we were off, running north on the Boardwalk, in the snow, with the sun coming up over the ocean. Now that was just plain beautiful.

We ran north to the end of the boardwalk and then continued into North Reho, turned around in one of the many parks and came to the first watering hole. The sun was coming up and we were actually starting to warm up: I took my hat off and switched to a headband! But that was a start - I could actually feel a little sweat. We headed west and out of the main part of town, out past Groves Park and onto the back roads heading north towards Lewes.

Shortly after, we came to the wooded trail part of the run - miles 5-8 roughly. This was a very scenic portion through the woods and along wetlands and the canal. I warmed up enough now to shed the gloves and jacket, which I tied around my waist. 

We continued north and east and on into Lewes, past the Cape-May Lewes Ferry where we saw a number of the leaders heading back towards the finish. They looked peaked, but I discovered why later.

Then we came to Cape Henloped Park. Oh My God was that ever beautiful. The sun was fully out by now and we were very comfortable. This was one of the best part of the run. Some slight rolling hills (not hills for real). And views everywhere! The course took us all around the park and we would alternate seeing pristine sand-dunes with scrub vegetation and sweeping ocean or across the Delaware bay to Cape May and the ferry.

We reached the half-way point and were able to dump our jackets - arranging to get them carried back to the finish. Felt much better not having to carry them, though it likely didn't matter to our times We turned around and crossed the half-way-point timing mat. This was maybe the highest point of the run, so we started a rolling descent (that's a bit of a joke since these are not hills at all).

As we left the park (regretfully) and headed westand back into Lewes, we hit the only hard part of the run -- head into the wind. It was wicked. For about 3, maybe4 miles, I just had my head dow, working on putting one foot in front of the other. It certainly explained why the front-runners we saw earlier were dragging a bit! It was like running up a steep hill. Kind of felt like running on a treadmill - no forward progress. At one point, the wind backed off and I almost fell forward - I had been balancing forward against it!

But then, we got back to the bridge in Lewes and turned south and east again and the wind was at our backs. And suddenly life was good again! 

I felt very strong as we headed back onto the trail part of the run and met up with one of the runners I had met on Active.com discussing this marathon. It was his first full after completing a half in Baltimore in October (go Will-I-Am - looking great). We came to the water stop in the woods and even here, in the cold and wind, the volunteers and spectators were all-in.

As we continued south and east,  sometimes we would feel the wind, but mostly it was at our backs or side and not as much of a bother. And we were definately headed "downhill" like a horse smelling the barn. Crossing mile 24 was a big boost - we knew we were in the final stage.

Coming back into town, as we were running, a long line of cars leaving the beach (those fast runners) were honking their horns and cheering us on. It was a big boost. Then we headed back into north Reho, turned right and back to the boardwalk. As soon as we came to the boardwalk, I could see the finish line gate and I took off -- sprinting to the finish. It turned out to be a lot farther along that darned boardwalk than I had remembered, but I managed to keep it up and finished strong. As I approached the finish, The race directors were announcing names as we came to the line. That really felt special.

After the finish, the race directors took the chips back and gave us foil/mylar sheets for warmth. In the past, I didn't need these, but this time I took it and wrapped up in it! We stayed on for a bit to watch other finishers. One special one was a mom, who's kids met her at the end of the boardwalk and ran to the finish with her.

We began to get cold again, so headed back to the hotel to shower and change, check out and head to the post-race party. Like everything else in this event, it was great -- good food, meats, carbs, veggies, no matter the post-race craving, it seemed to be covered. Had a beer (well, a half one) and some pulled-pork and a veggie burger. It was a great topper to the day. Then we said our goodbyes - This is Ed Peters after his 50th state:

Even the medals where great -- this is me as we were heading off:

A great end to a fantastic race. I guess I would say that if I learned anything, it was that I will get warm! I want especially to say thanks to my one big fan - my wife - without who's support I would never get to a starting line. Thanks a thousand times over and I love you!

I'll be back...

Five days to go. This promises to be a PR-run if all the stars are lined up! I'm hoping to break 4:30 and should be able to on the flat course and cool day. So far, the weather predictions are a bit conflicted -- either low 40s (for a high) and sunshine or mid-40s and maybe some rain. We'll see as the week progresses.

Training for this week:

6 easy miles today. 4 easy Wednesday. 2 werry werry easy Friday.

I was thinking about this as part of a discussion thread regarding the upcoming Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon and though it would make a useful Blog entry: What to wear?

The general rule of thumb is to dress as though it is 20 degress warmer, but a lot depends a lot on the wind. I'm a huge fan of RaceReady shorts because I can carry my gels and a baggy of Succeed capsules in the nylon pockets (I also carry a small camera, a small packet of lube for chafing, some Ibuprofen, and often my cell phone - I sound like a pack mule!).

I have yet to run in a marathon where I needed pants, but if it's windy or very cold, I have a pair of UnderArmor tights I wear under the shorts and a tight UA shirt I can wear under the tops. I'm a fan of layers - so I often wear a long-sleeve technical shirt under a tank-top or bib shirt. I always carry a big plastic garbage bag with holes cut out for my head and arms, rolled up and rubber-banded. I've never run with it on, but I have worn it after checking my bag to keep warm before the start. I imagine if the weather got nasty during a run, I could put it on. And if I get warm,I don't mind ditching a layer, though that hasn't happened in practice.

So, the answer is, I bring lots of options with me in a bag, and I put off the decision for as long as I can, and then I hope for the best when I check the bag. At the B&A marathon last spring, it was 24 degrees when I was driving to the race and I hemmed and hawed for a long time before deciding what to wear. I ended up in shorts, a long shirt, a short shirt and a vest. If you look at my profile picture here on Active.com (http://community.active.com/people/Steve%20Carton), it was taken during that race and you can see how I dressed that day. You can see the lumps in my pocket where I had ditched my hat and gloves that I wore at the start.

And, never, ever wear anything you haven't worn before.

I don't think it will be that cold on 11/22 for the Rehoboth Marathon, but it might be windy that close to the beach. We'll see as we get closer. But I swear by shorts with pockets, and I love the RaceReady shorts for that reason. I also have a vest with similar pockets sewn into the back. Putting gels and such in regular pockets allows them to bounce around too much for me. I like the webbed pocket style of RaceReady.

There's a cool guide at runners world to assist: http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/whattowear/0,,s6-240-325-330-0-0-0-0-0,00.html