Everything I’ve read on pre-marathon week preparation stresses two things: hydration and rest.

I’m a pro at drinking plenty of water. Rest? Not so much.

I love DST and longer days, but the effects of losing an hour are tough on my circadian rhythm. Add to that nerves about the marathon and worries about school. It’s enough to keep me up tossing and turning until 4 a.m. Fortunately, I have a flexible work schedule and work from home some Wednesdays. I made up some of the hours of sleep I lost and slept in.

Since I’m tapering, I’ve only run a little bit in the last two weeks. I feel like I’m slacking off, but I know the taper is important. On Saturday I ran 6 miles then took two days off. Tuesday I ran 3.1 miles at goal marathon pace and I’ll do the same later today.

The rest of the week will be race day prep. Friday morning, I’ll go to the expo at Dodger Stadium to beat the Saturday crowds. I’ll pick up my bib — #5339, almost the same as my La Puente Main Street 10K bib number, 339 — and wash my running clothes. I’ll finalize my playlist, a mix of my favorite running and LA-centric songs, and charge my Garmin.

Saturday will be spent helping out at a fundraiser at my parents’ house (more on that later) and topping off my glycogen stores, or carbo loading. That might include a donut. I ate one the day before the LB Half Marathon and accomplished my goals. What kind of athlete would I be if I didn’t have a silly pre-race ritual?

Despite my nerves, I feel good about Sunday. I’m a little worried about the rain; I’ve only done short runs on rainy days. Still, I’ll take rain over blazing heat and clear skies. That’s nice for a day at the beach, not a day running 26.2 miles to the beach. Ideally, the heavens will wait until late afternoon to begin pouring and we’ll have a cool 60 degree morning and cloudy skies. I’ll petition las ánimas de mi tía Macaria and hope she comes through.

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If you’d like to track my progress Sunday, follow me on Twitter or check Facebook. No, I won’t be tweeting during the race. I’ve set up the race day tracking to update my social networks. I’ll tweet as I cross certain points. You can also sign up to have updates sent via text.