Day 136: One week to go! So... what next?

"Weatherwise, it's such a lovely day..."

At 8:00 this morning --

Weatherwatch for Nov. 2 (from weather.com):

Mostly sunny, high 59°, chance precip. 20%, wind SSW 7 mph, humidity 62%, UV index 3

(overnight low Nov. 1: 42°, chance precip. 20%)

At 3:00 this afternoon --

Few showers, high 54°, chance precip. 30%, wind NW 9 mph, humidity 61%, UV index 2

(overnight low Nov. 1: 42°, chance precip. 30%)

I love it when people try to predict weather. A few showers and a few degrees cooler are fine... I just hope I don't get monsooned on.

Five miles today. For the first time since the half-marathon last month in Maine, I pushed myself, just a little bit. Today's time wound up being only 20 seconds off my 5-mile race time from April. Back then, I was exhausted, and I thought I had done really well. But today I wasn't even going that hard. I wonder how much I could really shave off if I were racing 5.

I've started to think about what I'm going to do after the marathon. ML reported that not having anything on the calendar afterward was a point of unhappiness, and I agree. I'm looking at other races, including some of the ones I did this year, and trying to make a plan. One big question is: will I do another marathon? Of course, I can't answer that one until I answer this one: will I do THIS marathon? I was encouraged by ML's finish last weekend and further encouraged today by my friend Andy, who completed the Marine Corps Marathon in DC, and by Carson, who rocked his morning race up in Lowell.

I'm feeling pretty good, and not really minding the not running. I'm trying to eat a bit better and sleep a bit more, and to shift my clock a little earlier to prepare for the race... only SEVEN DAYS away. Frightening. I will have to be at the staging area, outside the New York Public Library in midtown, to board a 5:30 AM bus to Staten Island, which means, working backward, I have to wake up REALLY early, to allow proper time for orienting, eating, using the bathroom (several times), and getting to midtown. Yikes and a half.

If you're interested in watching me run next Sunday, please e-mail me, and I will send you some notes, in case you haven't yet been briefed. It would be amazing to see friends (and even hecklers) along the way, even if you will be seeing me at my worst. Or, perhaps... at my best.