One Week Left...

One week from tomorrow I will be completing the Top Of Utah Marathon. This morning we did a 8 mile run with some speedwork/tempo run involved. You might ask what this entails. Well, you see the plan is to run really fast for 10 minutes (a 6:30 pace which is kick butt fast for me) and then do a slow jog for a 1/4 mile then run another 10 minutes at the same really fast pace followed by a collapse and twitching as people either mock us or call 911. So far, we've only been able to accomplish the two 10s once. We did manage to do two 7s at this pace.
Today i was not feeling in my top form. It is a result of going against the good running angel on my right shoulder which said "get the chicken sandwich." Instead I went with the rebellious running angel on my left shoulder that said "mmm...the chili cheeseburger looks fabulous..." Suffice it to say that my energy level was not stellar this morning.
After the first 10, we were both ready to collapse so we walked for a few minutes and then slowly built back up to a decent run. 2 miles before the end of the run we decided we'd just run at what our ideal race pace will be which is 7:13. It was much easier than 6:30, but I was still beat when I arrived home.
I've been strategizing my race for next week. The bus leaves the park at 5:30 am to go to the start 14 miles up the canyon. The temperature at the beginning of the race will be in the 40s-low 50s, but by the finish we should be in the 70s. I've been thinking about what time I deserve to wake up so that I can get something to eat and then have something else light while on the bus to the race.
Either direction, I am glad that the race is finally here. The hotel we are staying at is only two blocks from the finish line so I can go back to the hotel and collapse if needed.