Here I go again

This Sunday is the Cleveland Marathon, of which I am registered to run the half. I ran the 10K last year as the first race I signed up for. It was the race that really motivated me to run.

Today I visited the Expo, which happened to be right up the street from me.

the Expo was larger than I expected

This is just the half marathon packet pickup
I'm standing in line for mine, so add another 3 stations

Ever since my shoes got soaked, they've been giving my feet problems. I finished my last long run with blisters on 2 toes and a completely raw and bleeding spot where one toe rubbed against another. I have a new pair of Merrell Trail Shoes, but have not had the chance to ramp up mileage in them. I won't be able to run a race in them until August at the earliest, so the Kinvaras I've been running in will have to do. I hoped to find some Injun toe socks, to alleviate some of the friction and discomfort. 

Score! I also got the Gu and Cliff Bar for $1 each. That's more than half off!

I was also in the market for more Gu and something solid to eat halfway through the race. My new fueling plan (combine Gu and Gatorade with water in a handheld) worked wonderfully last weekend, except I still got hungry about halfway through. I was thrilled to find everything I wanted at $1 each.

I'm happy with the shirt fabric, but it runs WAY small. I was thinking about going back to the expo tomorrow for more cheap Gu, and now have to return the shirt for a larger size. I'm not even sure a large will fit. I might have to go with extra-large or maybe a mens. I'm not a big fan of pink, but even less a fan of orange, so will probably go with what I can get and hope I'll fit it eventually.

I don't have any real time goal for this race, though it would be nice to break 3 hours. Based on my last long run, that is not likely to happen. My only real goal is to do this without stopping. No water stop walking breaks. I ran the 11 miles last weekend without stopping for anything but traffic. I have NEVER run a race without walk breaks. The new fuel plan means I don't have to walk to keep from choking on thick and sticky Gu. Because I sip on the handheld every mile or so, I get fuel consistently throughout the race instead of big chunks 45 minutes to an hour apart. It will mean pushing hard at the end, especially since I still have a habit of going out too fast.

Oh, and by the way...

If I'm lucky, I'll get the cooler weather without the rain. The last few days have had some pretty strong morning thunderstorms though.