Races and weddings

I rifled through my running DVD collection and pulled out Spirit of the Marathon. I eyed my pantry looking for dried pasta. The Nuun tube only had a few tablets, but just enough for the next few days. And the haircut, check. That's done.

Maybe it's good I have other things to occupy me while I obsess over my healing heel. Truth is, it's not 100%. Enough to run a marathon. Hm, I think so. Anyways, icing and running fewer miles while working on other prep will keep me focused on Chicago. Six years ago, before my first marathon in Chicago, I really had no established routine. I had plenty of races under my belt, but not the big race. Now, after 15, the routine is set.

So far, the usual routine includes:

• Having a sudden craving for carbs. Then satisifying it. Again. And Again.
• Feeling every ache on my feet/leg/knee and worry
• Watching a few standby movies or documentaries on running
• Consider dousing myself in hand sanitizer to avoid a cold
• Checking the weather 10 times a day, then start looking at the hour-by-hour forecast
• Pack shorts/singlet/tights/long T/extra socks/hat, then wonder if there's another type of weather I should prep for

Then there are a few race-week traditions. I pull out a lucky hat (a Canadian one if I'm running outside of Canada), I check out the splits that I want to run, I browse through random Runner's World forums to see what the chatter is about. 

Last Saturday, I ditched my long run for a short four miles. With time to burn, I headed to my barber, had a haircut. A few days later, I told my co-workers when I decide I need a trim.

"I get haircuts for weddings and races," I said. "Luckily, I do lots of races."