Pete Tanguay

Taper time continues and my legs are getting anxious.  I had planned to do a 3 mile run this morning but my body decided to sleep instead.  Good call.  Today is going to be an exciting day.  We get to meet the Evenson’s and our NF Hero, Mavia Evenson.  Pasta dinner with the entire NF team and I can already sense that this is a wonderful group of people who I am very fortunate to be a part of.  Final race plans for the race.  I have so much support in the race.  The NF team has supporters around the course and I’ll be able to give them things to give to me.  I’ll be starting with the 3:45 pace group which is going to be like a Conway Running Club Sunday run.  Paul, the pacer, joined by me, Dustin, Stacy, Christian and who knows who else.  Stacy needs a 3:50 to qualify for Boston but she’s run a 3:42 before.  Christian is running with us but he’s run a 3:20 before.  All these fast runners slowing down to my fast pace!  Last year I did the Little Rock half in 1:42 and so I know I can get around the first half a lot quicker than the 3:45 pace that we’ll be running.  I just don’t know what I’ll have left at mile 14.  However, mile 14 is when Curt and Brad show up with fresh legs to pace me the last 12 miles.  Curt paced me in the Flying Monkey and Brad and I paced Melissa together in the Chicago marathon.  They’ll bring me my electrolyte drink and some energy bars for the second half.  Mile 22 is the big NF cheering station where I’ll have more fuel waiting for me.  This is truly a home course advantage race and I hope to take advantage of it.  Starting today with a pre-race massage to work out all of the stiffness in my body so I can be ready at the starting line.  Really more of a pamper than anything else but I’m looking forward to seeing if it makes any difference.  No real anxiety, mostly excitement.  I know the last 10 miles and especially the last 10k when I am going up and down those rolling hills on Cantrell, will hurt but I’m prepared to run through it with all I’ve got.  Curt and Brad are instructed to give me no mercy.  Had a dream the other night that I started half way through the race and forgot to put my Garmin on and had no idea where I was.  I was running strong and as I was going up these hills there was this fence along the side of the course and I was running with my legs and grabbing the fence and pulling myself forward as hard as I could.  It was not one of those running in the mud, can’t go any faster dreams, but a dream of pushing myself and although I did not know how fast I was going I felt like I was going strong.  Very soon, there will be nothing left to do but to do it.  And I’ll be there and I’ll be ready.