Third Time's the Charm

These are my plans for the Lost Dutchman Marathon this Sunday.

This is the gear I will be wearing/using:

Saucony Kinvaras
Wright socks
CWX tights (these are vented so they are good to go even if it's warmer)
RunningSkirt skirt (to store food & what have you)
Puma tank top
Pearl Izumi arm warmers
UnderArmour hat (to keep my hair from sticking out all over)
Ulitmate Direction bottle - hand held
Nike running gloves (maybe, although they are light enough to wear thru the whole thing I'm not sure if I want to wear them).

During the marathon I'll be drinking/eating:
20oz Blueberry Pomegranate Gu Brew (sips ever mile)
2-3 HoneyStinger Waffles (1/2 a waffle every 4 miles)
1-2 S Caps (1 before and probably 1 during)
Water at the aid stations if needed. It should be cool so I'm not sure I'll need the water.

The marathon starts at 7 out in the desert the last email said there will be mesquite bonfires at the start and ground mats to stretch or sit on. They will also have hot coffee, chocolate, tea, and water. And there's going to be a "warming" bus if it's really cold/rainy. So I'm not worried about staying warm before the start which is one less thing to worry about. I probably will wear one of my light jackets and gloves and put them in the drop bag.

As far as my plans for running the marathon go, my goal is a 4:20 marathon so my pace will be 9:56 per mile. The first 6 miles of the marathon are on a dirt fire road and the first 9 miles is mostly down hill. The rest of it is rolling but none of the "hills" are big. This is the profile:

One really good thing is that I did the half marathon last year which was an out and back course so I ran the last 6.5 miles of this marathon course and I know what to expect and that should help with pacing when I get to the last 10K.

The weather should be nice and cool for Sunday. They said there was a chance of showers but since I don't mind running in the rain, I'm good with that.

I feel good. My legs feel good. My long runs w/ marathon pacing this go round gave me a lot of confidence in my training abilities. I've done plenty of hill work this time. And working with Jason has made me stronger and an all around better runner. I think I'm good to go. They say the 3rd time is the charm and I'm hoping this will be the marathon where everything clicks. Wish me luck!