Game time

Four months of training, and now it's time for the rubber to hit the road. As you can see, I have everything laid out for the early morning wake up call. The reason my numbers aren't pinned on my shirt is because I'm still waffling on my choice of layers. The forecast is calling for 33 degrees and clear at start time, with temps rising to about 40 at noon. Chilly! Do I go with a ski hat or a baseball hat? Wear the old sweatshirt I brought and discard it at mile 2? How strong will the wind be? Do I throw a garbage bag on? This will all come down to a game-time decision.

I've signed up for the 3:55 pace group to ensure that I don't go out too fast, which I've been guilty of in the past. Besides, if I'm not constantly checking my watch, I can enjoy the scenery and the experience.

If any of you are running the Long Beach Marathon tomorrow, look for our own Stacy Embretson. She was in the Expo at the LA Marathon booth and will be running the event as well.

Russ and I had another enjoyable day in the Chicago Expo meeting participants from all over the world, but it was exhausting. So I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep.

I'll report back after the race.

Peter

Faces of Chicago

I spent the entire day in our booth at the Chicago Expo meeting marathoners from all over the world. It was so interesting that I felt compelled to shoot photos of some of the runners I met. It was a virtual UN of running, with so many countries represented. This is but a small sampling of my new international friends.

Peter

Lisa Hernandez

San Antonio, TX

Lisa used to live in LA, and she's running to raise money for Livestrong.

Kionari Yoshida

Yokohama, Japan

Ken is studying to be a teacher and ran LA 4 years ago.

Glenda Anderson

Luke Marshall

Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

They both work in the finance industry and run together.

Booth 689!

Colin & Kristin Cooley

Hermosa Beach, CA

Both aiming to run sub-3:20 in Chicago.

Bakhtar Lahcen, 42

Chahid Basidi, 63

From Morocco

Bakhtar has run the legendary Marathon des Sables, and they travel the world running marathons.

Benedicte Toto, 29

Cecile Canuel, 35

Paris, France

They are next door to us in the Expo working at the Paris Marathon booth.

Jay Madhure, 61

Northridge, CA

He's run 20 consecutive LA Marathons.

Athit Thongphithak, 52

Prayut Thongphithak, 48

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Running Chicago for the first time.

Neal Glynn, 75

Chicago, IL

About to run his 37th marathon.

Jesus Nieto

Pablo Ceron

Mexico City, Mexico

Pablo is a former elite runner with PRs of 28:20 in the 10K and 13:44 in the 5K.

Rohit Vasa, 62

Chicago, IL

This will be his 55th marathon.

Charles Sayles, 72

Glendale, CA

After Sunday's race, Charles will have run at least 2 marathons in each of 50 states.

Bill Orr

Bartow, FL

Bill is the elite coordinator for the LA Marathon, among other events.

Melissa Kaul

Anmaree Rodibaugh

Chicago, IL

They both want to move to LA!

Who's with me in Chicago?

I've arrived safely at the Hilton Hotel here on Michigan Avenue. As the official host hotel of the Chicago Marathon, there's a lot of activity here: The Nike pop-up store in the lobby, daily warm-up runs, a travel desk and the Marathon logo all over the place (even on the room keys--nice branding!). It feels like race central, and it is. Ran into Kenyan elite runner Vincent Kirpruto in the lobby tonight, along with Miriam, his agent. She says he's fit and ready. That's saying something, considering he's run 2:05:47. It's also worth noting that Wesley Korir, our 2009 LA Marathon champion, is racing here. I have to say that I'll be rooting for him, if it's possible to do that while I'm out huffing and puffing at my 9:00 pace!

Will be up first thing in the am for a warm-up run, then it's off to the Expo at McCormick Place. If any of you are here, please come visit us at BOOTH 689. I'll be there both days, and Russ will be joining me on Saturday.

Peter

Pete Carroll invites us to practice

From one legend to another: Pete and our own Rod Dixon

Pete took time to pose with the LA Roadrunners pace leaders

Today our SRLA leaders and LA Roadrunners pace leaders got a special treat. USC Coach Pete Carroll invited us down to watch him run practice at Howard Jones Field on campus. After that, Coach spent almost an hour mentoring our leaders. It was a fascinating afternoon, and Coach shared with us many of his secrets of success. He's distilled his vast experience down to some very practical bits of wisdom. My particular favorite was this question that he asked of the leaders in attendance: "How many of you have a philosophy that you can explain in 25 words or less to your runners?" That's just great advice. His philosophy at 'SC? "Always compete." Coach also talked extensively about the importance of a winning attitude, and he took time to answer questions and sign autographs afterwards. We'll soon post a video of his talk so you'll be able to learn more about his Win Forever philosophy. And look for more great things coming from our friendship with Coach Pete in the coming months.

Peter

New Performance visits Roadrunners

Matt Mahowald of New Performance Nutrition is getting me up to speed for next Sunday's Chicago Marathon. He will also be visiting our Roadrunners training program on a regular basis. On Saturday Matt stopped by to give us "Marathon nutrition 101." As someone who's been following his program since the middle of June, I can vouch for the benefits of his knowledge. For instance, in that time, my body fat has dropped from 23% down to 12.5%, I've lost 14 pounds, and my cholesterol is down 20%. It's been so educational, and without the annoyance of some draconian diet. The program is really about making smart choices and paying attention to what one eats. Many of us go out of our way to follow a detailed training program for our runs, so why wouldn't we do the same thing for what we're eating? It's like a nutrition road map. I've kept a log detailing every single meal I've eaten since June. With blood tests every two weeks, Matt is able to dial in a program that really works. I highly recommend getting in touch with Matt if you're at all interested in getting a nutrition point of view while you're training.

Peter

Malibu recap

Last weekend's Malibu Xterra Trailrun was as much fun as I've had in years at a running event. This photo shows my colleagues Russ Pillar and Stacy Embretson along with myself and our crack pitcrew. Stacy posted a smoking fast time of 1 hour 41 minutes for the 18K route. Good for 7th overall and first place in her age group. Well done! And thanks to Brennan Lindner for putting on such an enjoyable race.

Peter

Sunday in Malibu

How many of you are into trail running? We love it, too, and Sunday some of us from the office will be out in Malibu running the Xterra Pt Mugu Trail Run. Having run parts of this trail, I can tell you that the scenery is spectacular. And they've got both 18K and 11K options. Why not come join us and mix up your training a little bit? There's not better way to try out this sport than at a fun event like this. See you there!

Peter