CIM is on SUNDAY!!!!

In 4 days I am running this little marathon in Sacramento called CIM. For the last 12 weeks I have trained harder than I have trained for anything in my life. I stuck to my training plan 100% and I have zero regrets. I gave it everything I had. I am both excited and nervous for Sunday. I am nervous because that is normal, but I am excited to see what I can run. I have been vocal about my high hopes for this marathon since I signed up for it in March. I know that anything can happen in a marathon, but I am truly hoping that Sunday is "my day".

CIM has been on my mind 24/7 for a large majority of this last month. I googled a YouTube video of the course, but unfortunately watching it made me sick to my stomach because someone was filming it in a moving vehicle. Luckily there were multiple course maps available on the official CIM website.

My "educational" CIM course video

I have been doing my marathon homework for the last several days- analyzing course maps and mostly just trying to figure out the right pace to start out at. My dream is to just break 3:15, that would be almost a 23 minute PR from when I ran Portland in 2008. If I don't break 3:15 I will be devastated, but I will survive.

My current race plan is to start out VERY conservative for the the first couple of miles and just let myself get warmed up. No matter what I run, my first mile is always my slowest. By "conservative" I mean that my first mile will probably be a 7:50-7:55 mile. 

After a HUGE discussion I have decided to run with a cheap hand held water bottle to get me through the first couple of aid stops. By doing this I hope to avoid the stampede until the stops get less crowded. When my handheld is empty I will toss it. Who knows, I might not even decided to use the water bottle at all. I feel a little scattered right now so my plans are subject to change.

CIM course map

Elevation chart

On Monday I received my bib number. Guess this means I am official now.....

1.

Marathon

TASHA

MALCOLM

4463

INDIV Open

28

F

"SPOKANE, WA"

The CIM website will offer "LIVE" runner tracking starting at 7am on Sunday. If you feel so inclined you can track my progress. :-)

I intend on getting a lot of rest this coming week, BUT the most important thing I have yet to figure out at this point is WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR???!!!

--Tasha