13  DAYS | 11 HRS | 8 MINS | 36 SECONDS

This is how much time there is left until race, I am getting excited.  Here are 3 signs that scream 2 weeks to race day!

1. When you go on the Weather Network online, race day shows up in the 14 day forecast.

2. The time schedule at work shows race day in the present pay period.

3. Tapering has started in the training schedule.

Training for Myrtle Beach Marathon, seems to have started a long time ago, October 2011.  My friend and I are running the marathon together, it is going to be amazing.

Training for this long and through the winter you learn a few things along the way,

Gels are not made for Northern winters, on many occasions I was squeezing semi solid gel out of the packages because they had frozen in the extreme cold weather. I just started using this peppermint gel and it is great, I love the taste and it is easy on the stomach when taking many of them during long training runs.

 Water is also not a friend of the extreme cold weather, I wear one of those water belt with the four small plastic bottles and the water would freeze around the lid, making it very hard to stay hydrated.                       

                          

 I bought a pair of new Columbia winter running pants, they cost me about $80.00, which seemed like a reasonable price, since I would be training through the winter and wearing them allot. And to my surprise, wear them out I did, there are two big wear holes in the inner thigh of the pants. I wore them for the last time last week and threw them out. I haven't had to throw out a piece of running clothing in just a few months because of wear.

The great pieces of gear that I have used and never leave for a run without are,

Since running through the winter and having to run in the evening for many runs meant that it would be dark sooner. I purchased a Sugoi yellow jacket on sale in the Fall at Fresh Air, it was a mans jacket and I just cut the sleeves and put the cuff back on so that they were the right length.  

I have a few different coloured Robena headbands and wear them instead of a hat in the winter. My head gets so hot while running that I just stick to the headbands.

I mentioned before that the Gels and the water in the water bottles would freeze, at the same time I use them on every run.

For race day it will be a whole different story, the temperature will be + 16 to +20 Celsius.   I will be wearing a tank, skort and sunglasses the only things that will remain the same is the water belt, gels and the company.