Colby, thanks for the advice and the vote of confidence. You are going to rock that IM! I still haven't decided which way I'll go on Monday, but I'm leaning toward the hills - I was able to map out a route with "only" 1400 feet of climbing over 20 miles instead of the 1800 I thought I was going to have to do.

I've been experimenting with Endurolytes too, considering I was getting foot cramps in the last couple of miles of the half I did in October in 45° weather, and this one will almost certainly be closer to 70°. Foot cramps at mile 11 of a half was no big deal... at mile 11 of 26.2, not so much. I've been able to master getting a mouthful of water from my hydration pack and shoving a capsule or two between my lips - hope it won't be too hard doing the same thing with water from the aid stations. Definitely water first, then pill - they're so light that I was in terror of inhaling them when I tried it the "normal" way. No way could I mix the powder strong and deal with the taste, and I don't want to have to carry all my water, either, so pills it is.

Today was mile repeats x 3 ... after two days of yardwork in lieu of workouts, ahead of today's rain. Luckily I only got sprinkled on a tiny bit during my run, it didn't seem super-humid, and I kept the pace in spite of not doing much speedwork lately. That's a confidence builder, too.