Marine Corps Marathon: race-day logistics replace taper madness

Whew!

Today, I'm visualizing what I'm sure will be an emotional moment at the finish line.

That’s better!

I had a rough time there Tuesday, dealing with some pre-race taper tantrums. True to their toddler-esque name, taper tantrums led me to not only get cranky, but to act out in rebellion, staying up past midnight to watch the Yankees game and devouring two unbelievably delicious salty-oat cookies from Teaism (“Two” does not accurately depict how taper-unfriendly this indulgence was. These cookies are gigantic hunks of awesome that nutritionists will tell you should actually feed a family of four).

Wednesday was better. I did some light stretching and yoga-ish stuff, but basically just put in a normal work day until my late-afternoon massage with Cary Bland, a runner, cyclist and gifted massage therapist. This was everything I needed in the world, and then some. We chatted about the race a bit, after which I went into a deep, awesome massage trance that provided my first lick of relaxation all week. Bland told me afterward that, besides some tightness in my hips, my legs felt “ready to go.” He seemed pleasantly surprised by this, making me wonder what kind of sorry, beaten-up shape my legs were in last time he saw them.

Today, I’ve got a 20-minute run, with a few strides thrown in. I’ll use the every precious minute to visualize the final 10K of the marathon.

Today, I also get to add some cool details to my visualization. I get to the Arlington Cemetery Metro stop no later than 7 a.m. (being a local, I don’t have a bag to check at the snakepit that is apparently the runner’s village), warm up in sunny weather, with low temperatures hovering around 44 degrees. As I’m finishing, forecasts suggest it may be 60-ish. I know forecasts are no guarantee, but I’d rather be dreaming of the currently forecasted scenario than planning which trash bag I’ll wear at the start!