With just 10 days to go it’s been an eventful week in the Marine Corp Marathon world!
Twitter erupted with a flurry of panic over these tweets:
Fortunately the Marine Corp Marathon was on top of things and immediately issued a statement:
But, it looks like all is right and in 10 days thousands of my friends and I will take to the streets for a monument filled 26.2 miles through Washington D.C.!
So, to celebrate the 10 day countdown until the Marine Corp Marathon I present to you 10 things I’m going to be doing between now and the race!
1. Weather Stalking!
I’m dying to figure out what I’m going to wear for this race, but October in Washington D.C. is hard to predict so I’m keeping an eye on the weather!
2. Deciding on a Race Day Outfit!
As we get closer I’ll narrow down all my outfit choices (long sleeve? short sleeve? pants? capris?), but knowing me I’ll just throw everything in and end up WAY over packing!
3. Hydration Testing
Yes, I know this should have been done WAAAY earlier, but I recently realized I’ve never had Gatorade Endurance which is what is provided on the course (lemon-lime). I do run with my own hydration belt, but I usually refill from water stations so I’m going to pick some up this week and test it out!
4. Sign up for runner tracking!
5. Download the MCM App
6. Decide on DC Sightseeing
I’ve been casually looking at all the things to do while I’m down in DC, but with the government shutdown eliminating a lot of them I sort of backed off so I didn’t get too excited about something that wouldn’t be available.
Time to start planning again! I’m particularly interested in a walking tour and possibly the Holocaust Museum or the Newseum.
7. MCM Research!
I’ve been searching for and reading blogs about other runners MCM race experiences so I know what to expect – I particularly liked this one from Runner’s Connect: MCM Race Strategy
I’ve also been combing through the MCM website devouring all the information I can and even looking through the electronic race program – can you tell I’m not a fan of the unknown??
8. Foam Roll
Lots of this in the next couple of weeks!
9. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!
I am TERRIBLE about drinking enough water on a regular basis, so leading up to a marathon it’s something I really need to be conscious of!
10. Relax!
Between some school stuff and worrying about whether I’d be running a marathon in 10 days or not I feel like it’s been a mentally exhausting couple of weeks. For me, mental exhausted leads to major physical exhaustion so I’m going to try to make a real effort to relax my mind and body this week so I feel ready to go once I get to Washington!
What are your favorite taper tips?
Any words of advice for MCM or DC specifically?
Live, Run, Grow 
I think there’s still mini golf at the National Building Museum. Yup. Mini golf.
When I heard about the deal to end the shutdown I didn’t think great, the gov’t is back in session, I thought great! the MCM is on! Good luck!
Haha, I know, I hate to admit it, but I think that’s the most interested I’ve been in politics…
Knowing you, you still have a bag packed with everything in it from your last race. So you only have 9 things to do hahaha.
Ha, that was a Florida race though…need warmer clothes for this trip : )
I’m all set for Wine & Dine though!
Hit up the Georgetown area. It is a great way to stretch out your legs and SHOP! Stop in Georgetown Cupcakes to get a treat for AFTER the race. Check their Facebook page for a surprise cupcake of the day.
This is the best marathon course I have run!
Awesome, thanks! My brother lives in the Georgetown area and I’m probably going to go shower at his place after the race so that’s perfect!
Good luck with the fueling, hydrating and packing. You will do awesome and I can’t wait to hear all about the race. I will be cyber stalking all my favorite runners on race day!
Thanks Pam! Love having cyber cheerleaders!
I love weather stalking and obsessing over my race day outfit! I’m doing the same right now for the Toronto marathon! Soooooo glad the shutdown is over and you’ll get to race Marine Corps. DC is such a fun city to run. I did the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler there last year. So beautiful. My best taper tip is sleep, sleep, sleep. It’s all I’ve been doing the last week!
Thanks Karla! Can’t wait to run through DC! Good luck in your race this weekend, can’t wait to hear about it!
I like Karla’s tip about sleep, but I seem to have had a spike in anxiety recently. Boo! BUT excited that the MCM is still on.
This is so exciting. I’m glad that the race seems to be a “go”!!! It’s gonna be epic!
I’m getting very excited! Will you be there??
No, I did not run this race. I’m enjoying the recaps though!!!