wooosh....
so. being the mixture of dummy and smarty-pants that i am, i decided now would be a good time to take another look at the Course Map for the race.
first, i checked out chicago's (actually i did this by accident...) but....
i found THIS: 
see how flat the Altitude map is?? like we're talkin' F-L-A-T. and i'd never looked at this before. so i thought maybe the altitude map for chicago was just...not working. so i asked Chicago Boy (who grew up in chicago, worked in Wrigleyville, also know as Lake View)... anyway, i asked him if chicago is really that flat, and yeah. yeah, it is.
m'kay. alrighty then. shoulda signed up for chicago, but whatever. lets go check out the altitude/pace for San Francisco.
oookay, so i do that, and i find THIS: 
uhhhhhhhmmm??!!!!
so yeah. there are gunna be a few hills. and i knew this. i've known about this. i just haven't looked at it in a really long time. and i'd never compared it to another city. so after seeing chicago's topography, and then san franciscos?! bit of a shock... and not in a good way.
but actually though. we're gunna take a look at this here for a second.... the beginning is relatively flat. hell the BEGINNING beginning is downhill... so just that right there is a bonus. cuz who doesn't love a downhill, right?! so then... we've got two full miles of flatness...cool, a little up, a little down at mile 4, at which point i'll just finally be "getting into the groove" cuz it takes me a good 3 miles to get used to running... then 5 and 6 are flat... and then...
then.. ya see that really steep line in mile 7? followed by up down up down uuuup...dooooown. ok so thats mile 7 - 16. 16 is that big down hill.
so okay. 16 miles and i'll still be feeling pretty good... i like hills for the challenge they give to new and fun parts of my arse, because after you run up/down/up/down for a while, and then you get to a flat...its like smooth sailin' baby! ain't no thang.
so mile 19 is that kinda quick up...then a bit of flat, some down/up at mile 22/23/24... see that last bump. thats mile 24... and then... then 2.2 miles of down down down/flat.
so okay?! okay right? thats... thats fine, right?! i wont kill myself on the hills too bad, cuz... well, i just wont. because i'm not a masochist, or...ya know...sadist, who enjoys that kind of pain, but thats fine. because i'll be that less tired in the end, when its all kinda flat and downhill-ish.
so okay!! yeah. this is.. this is good. great. its fine... fine!!
so now that that's taken care of, we can move on to..... pace!
let me just say that Running Chick is my running hero(one of...cuz so are pretty much all of you!) because she introduced me to...PaceBands!!! yipee!!! and so i used her divine little pace calculator lil guy , and so now i have....
THIS:!! which will keep me on track for my 5 hour 'thon!!! hoorah for pace bands!
so okay, so see? everything is wonderful and right with the world and... despite the hills, this marathon is STILL gunna rock!
(see how i just bounce back like that?! yeah. bit of a rollercoaster, but dang if it ain't just so much fun!) hehe.
Comments
DATE: 1:16 PM
And i'm not getting any work done either--worrying about you!!! HA!!! (plus, works sucks. you're a good diversion!)How did you figure out which parts should be faster and which slower?? I mean I know the pace band calculator does that for you, but i don't get how it does it!?(good call on the inserts, btw. Try 'em later, not now.)
Posted by: jeanne | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 12:22 PM
Good luck. I hope it works out for you.
Posted by: Curious1 | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 1:44 PM
holy crap I'm doing Chicago next year if I don't get into NYC. That looks flatter than houston!!Good luck this weekend- you will ROCK!
Posted by: Cassie (TIGGS) | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 1:37 PM
Get back to work.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 1:31 PM
p.s. I swore I wouldn't give you advice, but i'm going to, cuz, ya know i've run so many marathons. Start out slower???? Please????You're already gonna be tempted to go too fast. OK, that's it. I'm done*(*lie.)
Posted by: jeanne | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 1:50 PM
I will second the start slow advice. Just checked the course map again, too. 7-10 is going to be GORGEOUS. You will forget that you're running up hill b/c you'll be staring out at the Pacific. :) Let's definitely meet up at the start. I will try to find you with the 5:00 hour crew!
Posted by: Nic | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 2:10 PM
Good luck, you are going to do great!You are totally ready so don't really need any advice, but here's a couple tips ...1. The pace groups are awesome, but run at a consistent speed throughout, first mile same as the last. If your start out with them you maybe be tempted to run at their pace. Push ahead in the start line closer to the front, do your own pace and eventually they will catch you. 2. The pace bands are fantastic, I was obessed with mine, but added the actual time I had to be at each mile ... 11.00, 22.20, 33.38 etc ... math is really hard when you're running :)Good Luck, looking forward to hearing all about it!
Posted by: Ali | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 4:02 PM
Definitely start out slower. Marathonguide.com has pace bands that will match the clock, not necessarily however many minutes for each mile...just a thought.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 2:30 PM
HOLY COW we have to stop meeting like this!!Thanks for 'splaining it all over on my comments! I'm gonna try to do the same thing, splits, plus cumulative time. awesome.(I should actually have four bands; one each for my goal, and one for if things go ... um, downhill...)
Posted by: jeanne | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 5:31 PM
i am with Ali, it is very important to have the total time on your pace band in addition to the indivdiual splits. very important. there will be absolutely no confusion whatsoever about how you're doing when you have the total time on your band (you'll get to quickly cross check it with what the clocks say as you pass them...it'll take a split second to see how you are fairing, then..back to running)..
Posted by: brent | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 4:45 PM
You are SO going to ROCK some marathon butt!!!Hills....what hills??You go gurl!
Posted by: The Running Red Sox Fan | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 4:03 PM
Best of luck. Looking forward to the race report. :)
Posted by: Gronk | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 7:31 PM
hey, thanks for the birthday wish =)i guess you're aware that i know zero about running except that it hurts my knees. well...that and you're all crazy. really..you're all nuts. come on - 26 miles on foot? the thought of it makes my back hurt.seriously, though - as hard as you've worked for it, i know you're gonna kick that marathon's ass. what's your favorite beer? i'll be sure to have one during the game on sunday!
Posted by: J | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 8:17 PM
ugh... tequila i still remember the color of my vomit from the last time i drank tequila =(well...if it'll help you run faster...
Posted by: J | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 7:54 PM
thats 26 POINT TWO miles, mister!! and uh... beer shmeer....how about you have a tequila shot for me, eh?! mmmm....tequila!
Posted by: a.maria | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 6:36 AM
Yeah, I just did my pace band this morning. I think we're both getting the same amount of work done. BTW, the website has a pace band for this particular race, taking into account that lovely hill at mile 7. That's what I used to do mine.
Posted by: ncmunchkin | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 3:25 AM
Lots of luck, I know you'll do just fine!
Posted by: Jack | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 9:38 PM
i'm sure you're gonna have a great run. good luck.
Posted by: atownrunner | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM
DATE: 8:40 AM
A,I'll be thinking/rooting for you man!You can do it. YOU CAN! I came here today to see if you posted before your big marathon and I had a lot to catch up on.
Posted by: Stephanie | July 4, 2006 8:03 PM