It's the final countdown

One month from today is the marathon -- ONE MONTH!! Instead of reflecting on where I've been over the past few months, today is a day about looking ahead, staying focused on the big goal. I'll have plenty of time to reflect in another month. I emphasize again that there is no "freaking out" or getting nervous going on right now -- I'm focused and determined.

In honor of the one month to go mark, I went out and ran a solid 7.5 miles this morning, including 4 of it in a slightly more than 8-minute mile pace, at least according to my Garmin. I swear it seemed like I was running faster, and maybe I was. Much of that run was on the flat trails of nearby Huguenot Park, where the tree cover in mid-October is still very heavy. Either way, I was very happy with my run as my warmup and final 1.5 miles were under a 9-minute pace.

Last week, I brought up weight for the first time in a while, as well as 40 foods I won't touch in the 40 days leading up to the marathon. It's amazing what writing about it will do. This morning my weight was at 178.8, down 2 pounds from last week and actually slightly less than my weight for the Shamrock Half Marathon in March.

So, what's left this month? I hope to have a couple of more long runs in nice weather before the tapering begins. While I'm not overly concerned about my time for the marathon, I will continue to work on speed and tempo runs. There may be a 5K or two included solely for that reason. When my taper begins, I will take advantage of the fewer miles by continuing to run hard. (I think too many people think taper means cutting back mileage, as well as slowing down - I disagree.) And I'll continue to try losing a few more pounds.