If all is going according to plan, then I am on my way down to Atlanta right now for the RRCA Coaching Clinic and for the ING Georgia Marathon. I have a review scheduled to appear on the site tomorrow morning thanks to a couple of excellent readers from my newsletter, and if I can get some online access over the weekend then I’ll provide some thoughts on the race after I get done running. If not, then you’ll have to wait until I get home!

I am expecting good things out of the marathon this weekend. Based on the reviews that I read last year, everybody really liked the race except for a few major problems with it, such as not providing enough water. The race directors seem to have learned from their mistakes based on their preparations, so I am expecting things to go pretty well as long as they get the route cleaned up from the recent tornado that attacked Atlanta.

If you are going to be in the area, then keep an eye out for me at the expo on Friday night. The expo is free of charge both Friday and Saturday, although it has been moved to the Georgia Dome due to the storm damage downtown. If you are at the race as either a runner or a spectator, then feel free to come up and say hi if you spot me. I will be wearing bib #129 and expect to be running at a pretty even 6:50-6:52 pace throughout the entire race.

My goals for this marathon are pretty simple; it’s going to be a long tempo run. The idea is to get in 28-30 good miles, with 26 of them taking me to the finish line in about 3 hours. I want to be able to recover quickly from the race so that I can get back to my normal training next week as I prepare for my goal marathon on May 4^th in Rhode Island.

If you are running and want to run a sub-3 hour race, then I’m more than happy to provide the pace for you. I’ll warn you that I sometimes don’t shut up when I’m running, especially when running marathons, so I might talk your ear off. Of course, that could provide you with the motivation to stay ahead of me and meet your goals, since you’ll hear me coming up behind you!

The race is Sunday morning at 7:00 EDT, and if you are interested in such things you can track my progress at this web page once the race begins:

You can find out more information about the race at their website:
http://www.inggeorgiamarathon.com/