One day at a time
Who will be doing one of these races? I'm wimping out for a flat HM in Hampton, New Hampshire. It doesn't start until 10 am, so I'm hoping the rain will be gone by then! At least it shouldn't be too warm.
an amazing likeness
The training plan I'm using right now has a Sunday as a 12-miler easy as the last long-ish run to really start the taper phase. So I'm going to run with a co-worker in the Maine 1/2 Sunday and see if I can help her make it under 2 hours. Not sure what I can do other than keep her on steady splits and keep her company.
Looks like we'll have the rain, or at lest the heaviest rain, cleared out overnight Saturday. Yeah! It was looking pretty bad a few days ago.
It is odd...they talk about the psychological advantage of a "home course", but I do so many of my miles on Rt 88 between Falmouth and Yarmouth that I can't stand the thought of running the full Maine Marathon. I know every hill, dale, nook and cranny of that road. I'd be constantly thinking miles ahead about what's coming, it would just drag me down.
Good luck to you down in Hampton, knock it out of the park Teresa !
After Hampton Half, put the Great Bay Half (Newmarket NH) on your calendar for next April, that was a pretty good course, lots of variety and good size race. (aka small, but well organized and well supported)
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Teresa:
Good Luck in your half. I abosluttely love the Maine course and was originally going to be running the full again this year but dropped down to the half as I was part of a relay team doing the MDI in a couple of weeks and then of course I have the NY Marathon on Nov. 1.
Two of our relay members bagged on us so the MDI is out...oh well, I'm still doing the half Sunday hoping to go sub 1:30 although I'm not sure my right leg/butt issues will allow that yet. Either way I'll give it all I have and hope for the best. It's great to see that we might not get soaked after all!
Good Luck in your half as well Andy, personally I love those roads you get to run every day, but I can also see your point.
Bob,
I do that route so often, I even know the names of some of the dogs....
Question for you -- I remember reading one of your race reports on a recent Maine Marathon (maybe a couple years ago or last year?) and you described 'calling' ahead to let your wife know you had passed Skillin's and were on the way back for the finish so she could be there.
I'm curious about how did you do that, cell phone, walkie-talkie, magical law enforcement super powers?
[Or, do I have it all wrong and nothing of the like ever happened...]
Andy:
You have it correct my man! I always carry a cell phone with me so that I can let me wife know if anything goes wrong and when I'm finished. And on those occasions when she accompanies me to a race (marathons in particular, I always call her to let her know when I am a couple of miles out so that she can be at the finish line. I have a small one and wrap it in paper towel then in a baggie so that it doesn't get wet with sweat and or water that I might dump over my head in warmer weather etc.
Thanks, Andy and Bob! It should be fun.
Andy, do you run to Route 88 from your house? I've never tried running over there. I guess I could park close to the Royal River Grille House and go from there. I need some new routes, because I'm getting tired of North, Ledge, and Mountfort! We ran around the Bayview neighborhood yesterday, for a change.
Teresa,
Yep. I have a bunch of different loops that use RT 88 in some way. Most often I use North to E Elm to Hillside Rd to Greely Rd to Tuttle Rd then south on 88 towards Falmouth, turn (usualy at the Town Landing Mkt) and head back 88 to E Main, to North to home. Or some variation on that.
In the summer, I tend to leave off the inland part and head south on E Main, past Herbie the Elm tree, over the river south on 88, loop out to Cousins, follow ME Marathon route of Drinkwater, Morton, Princess Pt, then continue south on 88 and turn back somewhere, or take Tuttle over to Rt 9 to Elm to come back.
Or, go even further on Cousins out to Cousins Island to get cooler air and add some hills.
There's a Yarmouth town park on Gilman Rd (in field across street from brick house) where you can park your car and have easy access to 88, or you could use the Chebeague Island lot on Rt 1 and cut over to 88 on Tuttle or Powell Rd. There's also a Yarmouth town lot immediately left after crossing the Cousins Island bridge if you wanted to run the Island, little traffic out there and lots of routes.
In winter, I tend to avoid 88 as it has crappy shoulders and no room to get out of the road when there's snowbanks.
Anyway, enough blah, blah from me on the many roads of Yarmouth, Cumberland and Falmouth...
Good luck tomorrow, hope you have a good race! The rain will be gone by morning, so expect it to be warmer than we've had. Give John A an encouraging "go, man, go" for all of us.
Andy
#2867
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