Running with Jack

Last night was a balmy 9C/48F as I headed out for my last run on the marathon training schedule. It was quite windy, really muddy, and raining – but I was well rested, well fed and full of energy - so I just grabbed the wind and ran with it!

I ran about 7K/4.4M with a pace of around 5:30/K (8:51/M). I finished feeling strong and full of energy which is exactly how I should have been feeling, e.g. no new aches, pains, or other surprises.

Jeanne asked if there is a way to sign up for live updates of the race. The answer is that we are really behind the times here, I don’t know of any marathons that offer this in Germany yet. I thought about bringing our notebook along so my wife could do a couple quick blog entries, but guess what – no Internet access! I will try to post initial results by noon, Easter Standard Time.

Jeanne also commented that the marathon website was only in German. Several organizers do offer at least an English page with key information, but not this race. I am surprised that the race organizers haven’t thought to have an English version of their website. This is one of the first marathons in Germany each year and they get people from all over Europe running it, English would be useful! Hmm, this sound like an opportunity for Jack, I may have to talk to these guys :-)

Tomorrow I have a relatively quite day planned. If the rain/snow holds off I want to go to the garden and prune my fruit tree and berry bushes. Otherwise, I will probably help my wife iron down the pile that has been waiting for us in the corner.

The latest weather predictions for Sunday race day are really diverse:

The T.V. weather channel is calling for 2C and snow;
The newspaper 3C and rain;
One Internet weather site 5C and cloudy;
Another website -2C and snow;

So it looks like I will need to bring my entire running wardrobe and make a final decision on what to where shortly before the start :-)