Today is a big day in my training. I just actually registered for the race! I have paid money. It is great to talk a big game about running the race, but actually paying for it a different thing. The marathoon has different starting times. They put those with the same paces together. Those who want to run it in 4 hours start together, 4 hours 30 minutes start together, etc. During registration I had to decide what my pace was going to be, what is my goal time? I have figured my time based on the time I leave and the time I get home. I have been running constantly about 9 - 10 minute miles in training so far. So I put down 4 hours and 30 minutes which is about 270 minutes or bit over 10 minute miles. That is about 6 miles an hour. I have been constantly doing that so far, but I have only run 5 miles so far. Can I keep that up for 26.2 miles? I guess that is what the training will tell me. Also, if I find out that 4 hours and 30 minutes is too fast then I can always shift it down and change groups.
Do I want to get a hotel room near the start line since everything starts so early. The race starts at 7:00. I did a lot of research today on the race day. Looks like the runners park near the finish line and take a shuttle from the finish line to the start line. The finish line is at the Titans stadium and the start line is at Centennial Park. The shuttle stops running at 6 am!! Yikes that is early! To get there on time I would have to leave Murfreesboro around 4:45 or so. I don't want to get there at 6 that is the last shuttle and from reading blogs it is crowded between 5:45 and 6:00. So I want to get there around 5:15 or 5:30. That is early.
I went on-line to see what hotels are avialable. Most the hotels were already sold out or were extremely expensive ($250+ per night). But, I did find that the Lowes Vanderbilt Plaza was going for $199 per night. I went ahead and reserved a room for a just in case because there were only a few rooms left open. I'll make the final decision around mid-March.
I also began researching what I need to be eating. Lots of fruits and vegetables. I do need to do better on that front. Pasta is really good before a long run. I'll do better on this front.
10 years ago
