Twas the night before Chicago Marathon Eve

It's Chicago Marathon Eve Eve!  Translation: it's the night before the night before the Chicago Marathon!  (OK, as I type this it's technically the day before the night before the Chicago Marathon, but you get the idea.)



Not to get ahead of myself, but Marathon Eve Eve is a very festive occasion that should be celebrated!

An enormous THANK YOU to everyone for all of your inspiring, confidence-boosting, encouraging comments, posts, and thoughts.  You are the best!  Unfortunately I've had a crazy busy week at work so I am once again battling to keep up with my life.  But I will catch up with all your blogs and comments very soon!

Also, I wanted to send out a quick thank you to the lovely Irina at Chocolatea Time for nominating me for the Sunshine Award!  I will keep the Sunshine tide flowing after the marathon is over next week.  =)

SOME OTHER UPDATES:

• I am starting to come to the realization that I am a "confidence" runner, meaning that I run better when I feel good. This is probably not all that surprising, given how running is so much about mental strength. This means that I need to look forward to the fun that the Chicago Marathon will bring, instead of worrying about the last 6.2 miles being a death march.  YES!
• I've been stretching like Gumby this whole week.  And much to my relief, my troublesome groin aching has been improving.  It's probably too much to hope for a completely pain-free groin by Sunday, but at least it's headed in the right direction.  YES!

Gumby walking like an Egyptian.

• The forecasts for race-time weather are excellent.  Partly sunny, temps in the 40s.  I truly believe that the perfect marathon-day weather conditions are a payback for the brutal summer we had here in Chicago.  YES!
• The suddenly-cool weather now has me scratching my head on what to wear.  Up until this week I had planned to wear shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.  Now I'm planning to wear a light jacket.  But I am debating what to wear underneath the jacket, if I should wear capris or tights, and even if I should bring a hat and gloves?  YES!
• Per the suggestion of many, I am probably also going to wear a throwaway sweatshirt to the start.  But also per the suggestion of others, I will be careful when I chuck it so as to avoid the Attack of the Killer Throwaway Sweatshirt.  I don't want anyone to trip and fall over it and risk breaking their skull.  YES!  (OK, I'm getting carried away with the whole "YES!" theme so I'll stop now.)

Enjoying the chuckage of sweatshirts.
"Buh-bye!!!"

GREAT ADVICE

During these final days leading up to the marathon, many bloggers have put out some absolutely amazing posts with incredibly good advice for the Chicago Marathon.  Here are just a few of my many favorites:

• Tips for first-timers from Amanda at Too Tall Fritz
• Words of wisdom, particularly on mental approach, from Amy over at Army Amy*
• Course strategy tips from Maggie of Mag Mile Runner
• Spectator tips from Maggie of Mag Mile Runner
• Preparing for the unexpected from Sara at Run Gingerfoxxx, Run!
• What to do you if you hit the wall from Pete at The Lakefront Trail

Also, Erin at Eri-thon shared some fascinating scoop on what goes on behind the scenes for the Chicago Marathon.

I can never get enough advice so please let me know of any other great posts of wisdom out there that I can share!

SPECTATORS TO LOOK FOR

I know that several bloggers will be out on the course cheering!  Here are some of their specific locations:

• Mile 11.5ish aid station - Cary over at My Life's List.  Look for her in an identifying hat or hair thing.
• Mile 17 mile marker - Kelly at Running Kellometers.  Look for her in a yellow FN Run Club shirt that says "Running Kellometers" on the back.  She'll also have lots of emergency runners' items with her if need be (so awesome, thank you!)
• Mile 18 aid station - Erin at Eri-thon.  Look for her in "some kind of ugly vest over the ubiquitous blue volunteer jacket," as well as potentially with a balloon in her ponytail.

Who else will be out there?  Whether you are a blogger or not, let me know where you will be so I can look for you!

AND FINALLY...

I wanted to say one more huge thank you in advance to all spectators and to all the well-wishers, friends, family, and colleagues that have helped keep me going through this journey.  You have no idea how much it means to me and how much you've inspired me.

The most special of thank yous goes out to Adam, who has been so patient with me and who has put forth so much time, effort, and understanding to support me during my many highs and lows.  You are the bestest and I can't say enough about how grateful I am for you.

I am off to the Chicago Marathon expo now to pick up my bib and packet.  Here we go!