Last Chance Saloon

Last chance before the long expanse
(Courtesy susanvg @ Flickr)

Seems like every old Western movie had its Last Chance Saloon to entertain crazy cowpokes about to ride off into the sunset on a long trek from which they might not return. So it is with a modern day rendition of that ritual - the last days before a marathon race. As the timelapserunner writes this last blog post before his venture into the wasteland (just teasin') of the 2013 Louisiana Marathon, his thoughts begin to both wander and wonder. Will he return from this journey? Will there be excitement all the way or just excruciating trauma? Or a little of both? Will he drop to the ground and kiss the earth at the finish line? (Gee, that's a bit extreme, isn't it?) There are less than 36 hours to pursue those questions at this point. This truly is the point of no return.


The timelapserunner has put in the work, well at least most of it. These last three weeks since his last long run have been far more of a taper than he had planned. Between a semi-vicious cold and some foot troubles, only half the workouts have been completed since his last long run. However, Charlie - the lead pacer for the marathon - suggests that the extra tapering might be just the thing that the doctor ordered, as far as running a good race is concerned. So, we shall try not to angst over that any more.

Shirt with Bib - It must be official!

A bit of the cold still lingers - a mild, infrequent light cough. But breathing does not seem to be a real issue, so we'll try to put that puppy to rest as well. The foot troubles aren't acting up at the moment, though the right calf is playing games with us like it has in the past regarding cramping. We'll massage that a bit and choose to ignore, drinking a bunch of electrolytes during the next day and a half. We'll try to forget those issues too.

We have not made a final decision about pace yet. It seems almost sacrilegious not to have firmly decided on pace at this late date. But it is what it is. The timelapserunner ran a 5 hour, 23 minute marathon-long training run three weeks ago, and he just cannot get the thought out of his mind of trying to come in under 5 hours in the race itself. Twenty-three minutes does not sound like a lot at first blush, but it would represent running 50 seconds per mile faster for the entire race. THAT is a lot. Remember, if you go out too fast, you slow down even more. Every second per mile too fast in the first half is two seconds per mile slower in the second half.

Still, the adrenalin and euphoria of the race should provide some cushion to keep pushing. If we don't mind the result of slowing down later if we've gone out to fast, then all will be OK anyway - we hope. Even though we've signed up to follow the 5 hour pace runner, we can always chicken out at any point. Perhaps this will be a last second decision. Our Magic Mile pace suggests that we have a 5 hour achievement within us, but one never really knows. We'll ask for continued inspiration between now and the cannon start on Sunday morning.

At this point, I'd like to thank all those who have supported me through the many long months of training for this, and who continue to support me even in these last hours. Though I've run all my training runs by myself with no real-time support team running in shorts next to me on the routes, I have had all of you there in spirit to help me prepare. I will take you with me on those 26.2 miles and we shall finish this together. In joy, in triumph, in the grace of being human - God's most glorious creation. Amen.