Last Minute Marathon Preparations

SLEEP:
I haven't been sleeping very well the last few nights which I think is mostly due to some nervous excitement (and the fact that my wife has been working nights at the hospital this week). I was relieved to read this bit about sleeping from Last-Minute Marathon Tips:

You may sleep well, or you may not. Don’t worry about it if you don’t sleep at all. Many runners I work with every year don’t sleep at all the night before and have the best race of their lives. Of course, don’t try to go sleepless, but if it happens, it is not a problem.

MUSIC:
I spent too much time last night trying to pick out the perfect marathon music mix. I was trying to pick ~5 hours of music from what I have stored on my computer and my sister gave me an iTunes gift card so I had all that to choose from also. This was a case of too much choice being a bit overwhelming.... but I think I got a good mix. Some rap/hip hop songs like The Seed 2.0, and Ninety Nine (Flash the Message), and The Whole World have been good solid training tunes, and then I added in a few others from random genres like Road to Nowhere, Bittersweet Symphony, Dani California, When I come Around, What a Wonderful World and of course the Rocky Theme. Very few people have ever told me I had good taste in music, so feel free point out how cheesy my selection is.

I meant to blog about this a while ago, but I started training with the Nike + iPod early on, and found it to be a great way keep my pace and music really does add to the enjoyment of the run. At $30, it really is one of the best investments I made, and you don't have to buy Nike shoes to make use of it. Podophile's shoe mod was an inspiration for me to try Caselogic holder and it has worked well with my Mizunos.

My "power song" (the one that comes on when I hit the center button - to power me up the hills) is Lose Yourself by Eminem for both the beat and the message:

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo!

DIET:
This morning I had granola and yogurt with a banana and a PowerBar energy gel (which I have been eating 1 of every morning for the last few days to make sure I can tolerate it first thing). I am skipping the official "Pasta Party" tonight, but will be looking for a good Italian restaurant in Monterey. I am a sucker for the fettuccine alfredo, but I think I will avoid the cheesy sauce tonight and stick with marinara. Shortly I am headed to Jamba Juice for a smoothie, and getting on the road to Monterey... see you at the Finish Line!