I've completed my second to the last short jog before the Philly Marathon on Sunday.. it was good because the temperature outside is just about what the expected starting temperature will be on Sunday, so I was able to test out my planned outfit to see if it would be adequate, seems it will be.

So with just 72 hours to go, its hard to think that the training season is over for now, feels like it just started. My body does need some rest and recovery time, its pretty beaten up, so the rest period will be nice... that doesn't mean I won't run, i'll just cut the miles back and maintain what I can before kicking it up again.

I've gotten emails asking about my expected finish time, well, like i've written all along, my goal is to finish. I found out that the marathon website says this course is a 'fast' course, which would indicate to me that maybe the hills aren't as bad as I thought, but still, my expected finish time is between 4:00 and 4:15, anything better is great, but not expected. My goal pace is around a 9:10/mile, which should get me close to finish around 4 hours, but that pace will probably fade towards the end (unless I have a great day). Regardless, crossing the finish line is the real goal ... with all the pain i've lived with over the last 3 weeks with my hip and back, i'm happy just to be able to line p for the start, let alone finish.

Just a short update today though, gotta get to work (I have all this free time in the mornings now since I'm not running crazy miles!)...