My marathon eve workout today consisted of hiking with my in-laws in the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park.  We hiked along the Ouzel Falls Trail, which Karen and I first explored back in July.  The weather was ideal – crisp air and full sun.  The Aspen leaves have all fallen at 8500 feet, but the scenery was still stunning.
We made it as far as Calypso Falls.  Ellie was bouncing all over Upper Calypso Falls snapping photos.  The trail overall is fairly pedestrian.  Barbara surprised me with her spry gait, jumping across creeks and rocks.  My in-laws felt comfortable with both the terrain and elevation. It’s a great family hike.  We lunched afterward at Oscar Blues in Lyons.

Later this afternoon, I drove into Denver to pick up my race packet at the Convention Center.  Race expos are big events.  Sometime before I got back into road races 5 years ago, the expo apparently became an integral component of the Road Race business model.  I wish I knew the percentage of sales generated from the expo vs registration fees and other merchandise ordered as part of the event sign up.  I just spent a few minutes querying online but didn’t find much.  The Rock & Roll race series, like many others, requires packet pickup at the expo.  I didn’t buy anything but did spend $12 parking.

I’m looking forward to a great day tomorrow.  I expect to run an 8:30 pace.  I’d like to run a bit faster but my primary goal is to run well the final six miles by holding my pace.  I plan to wear a camelbak in order to hydrate with my own electrolyte cocktail – Skratch.  I’ve been training with it.  I like the taste and my stomach does well with it.  I also expect to start out running the first couple of miles with my buddy Chris Price.  He maintains a very disciplined approach and runs the first two miles at a 9 minute pace.  He then speeds up to around 7:30.  His goal is to break 3:20 to qualify for Boston.  I’ll let him go and should finish 20 to 30 minutes behind him.