Home stretch

ORN: 3 miles in 30:02, with which I am well pleased. The day was partly cloudy, 65°, and pleasant in every way. I passed a couple mallards napping in the sun by the river. I wish I could have joined them. After an uncomfortable 1/2 mile warm up, I felt great. The aches and pains I endured since Saturday melted away, and I kept a moderate pace, not wanting to overdo it on what's supposed to be an easy week.

Best of luck to the multi-talented Tracy, our running group's fearless leader, who by the time you read this will have completed the Boston Marathon. I'm writing this paragraph early Monday morning but will post it in the evening, so I guess I should say "hope you had a good day, Tracy!"

Back to me and my stuff. If you are as tired of reading about the upcoming Kentucky Derby Festival Half Marathon as I am of writing about it, thinking about it, training for it, dreading it, looking forward to it, talking about it, and answering non-runners' questions about it; then, I am sorry. More of the same follows. But the good news is that this is the last week. The race is on Saturday. I've got a bib number already -- #10745.

More good news, Wifey and Little One might come to cheer me on! Unlike many of the races I have participated in, typically small 5Ks with no more than several hundred runners, this one has 12,000+ runners and a huge history of spectator participation. I imagine they won't be shivering with a handful of race volunteers in some cold, lonely park. Instead, they will be shivering with hundreds of screaming race fans. I'm sure they'll find something to complain about, but I'll be glad to see them at the finish.

My race day plan:
05:00 - Awaken. Wonder why I am up at 5 on a Saturday. Drink some Gatorade™.
05:20 - Drive to work.
05:40 - Park in the employee lot and walk several blocks to the the starting line shuttles.
06:00 - Chill at the starting line. Pee every chance I get. [Lesson learned the hard way.]
06:30 - Savor the race-day atmosphere. Pee.
07:00 - Walk around. Do some jumping jacks to warm up. Pee.
07:30 - Begin running.
10:00 - Finish with a < 2:30 chip time, but I'll be happy with what I get.
Postrace - Spend some time at the post race party at the Waterfront. Feel smug. w00t!

1. Serial Thrilla - The Prodigy
2. Glad to See You Go - Ramones
3. Enjoy - Descendents
4. Which MC Was That? - MC Frontalot
5. Being Boiled - The Human League
6. Santa's Beard - They Might Be Giants
7. Shoes - Bim Skala Bim
8. I Got the Creeps - Big John Bates
9. My Problem - Dance Hall Crashers
10. Catch Hell Blues - The White Stripes
11. Küss Mich (Fellfrosh) - Rammstein