Sunday is the Pocono Marathon and I’m starting to get excited.
Today officially starts my “taper”. With that being said I did do a shorter long run on Saturday and a shorter version of a workout on Tuesday, but from a volume and frequency perspective it really starts today. Yesterday I ended up getting in 2 runs of 45 minutes and 30 minutes (with the double stroller). The next 3 days will be 40 minutes/35 minutes/30 minutes and will all be run on pavement. I will also throw in up to 4 x :15 striders over the last 5 minutes of each of the runs to get my legs turning over.
I have also started eating a higher percentage of carbohydrates (and fats) today and will continue through Saturday night. While some people can get away with throwing in some junk food for the extra carbs, I have found that my body is very sensitive to the spike in blood sugar that comes along with eating sweets. For this marathon I am trying something a little bit different. I am going to eat fairly normal (for myself) with a focus on a little bit more on the carbohydrate portions, but in between meals I am going to have a 20 oz water bottle with 2 scoops of Twin Labs Ultra Fuel. Ultra Fuel is a carbohydrate replacement drink with 100 calories and 25 grams of carbohydrates per scoop. This will add up to 3 (will see how 2 go down between breakfast/lunch and lunch/dinner) drinks of 200 calories and 50 grams of carbohydrates per drink.
The course is going to be challenging. Here is a copy of the profile. I’m going to have to be very patient and smart the first 15 miles. If you have ever run a longer race or done a workout with a number of downhills then you know what I’m talking about. Running too fast/hard downhill can leave you suffering over the rest of the race. There will be several challenging uphills as well….it’s going to be challenging. I’m looking forward to it!
Dave Berdan's Running Blog 
