Six Days to the Next Marathon

I've transitioned from "Days of Recovery," to the countdown for my next marathon.

For your information, the next marathon is the Prescott YMCA Whiskey Row Marathon. The marathon is conducted in and around Prescott, Arizona, and it is pretty clear they must have a YMCA there. I'm also guessing there must be some whiskey for sale at a saloon.

Here is a link to the marathon's website (http://www.prescottymca.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=144&Itemid=100). I have excerpted some information to give you a quick read on what I will be facing:

• This is one of the toughest Marathons in the United States.


• The terrain is rugged, the altitude exceeds a mile above sea level and the weather can be severe.

OK, now I'm wondering why I picked this marathon.

• This is one of the toughest Marathons in the United States.

Yes, they say this twice on the race website.

• If you feel dizzy, have pain or exhaustion, please ask for assistance.

I'm feeling dizzy just reading the race's website!

As for the recovery and training effort, since there are only 12 days between Boston and Whiskey Row there really is no training...it is all recovery.

On Saturday, Cathy and I were in Starkville, Mississippi for a wedding, so we walked 3.6 miles together that morning. , Ah, the romance of a morning stroll! Our walk took us all over the campus of Mississippi State University. If you are ever in Starkville, I recommend you buy ice cream from the campus dairy.

Sunday (today) I ran 4 miles at a pace of 9 minutes per mile. This was my first run since Monday's marathon. My run was in the afternoon, when the temperature was in the mid-80s. Running in the afternoon was done for two reasons: (1) I expect some warmer temperatures for Saturday's marathon, so it was good to run in some heat and (2) I slept too late to run in the morning. My legs felt pretty good during the run, other than I ran a marathon six days earlier. The heat causes an increase in the heart rate, so I was in the 160 to 170 beats per minute range for part of this run. On Monday in Boston, when the temperature was in the40s, my heart rate maxed out at 163 when I was running up Heartbreak Hill. In other words, since I have not trained on heat it causes a greater increase in my heart rate than does running up hills (I train on hills around Birmingham). The key for me in the heat is to slow down. I'm not going to set any records when it is warm, I just need to focus on finishing the run.

The forecast for Saturday in Prescott is a low of 45 degrees...my guess is this will be the temperature at the start of the race. The high is predicted to be in the mid 70s. I expect to finish before the high temperature is reached, so the temperature should be tolerable with low humidity.