Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Did anybody see the Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears game on Monday Night Football last night? It was eerily similar to the situation Michigan State has been in this season...

It most notably compares to when we played Notre Dame. MSU was a team looking for respect against a very strong team, kind of like what the Cardinals were doing against the Bears. Arizona had a 23-3 lead on the last play of the 3rd quarter, when they fumbled the ball and Chicago returned it for a 23-10 score going to the 4th quarter. Chicago then got another fumble return for a touchdown with 5 minutes left when Arizona was trying to run the clock, making it 23-17. Next possession, Arizona has to punt and THAT gets returned for a touchdown, putting the Bears up 24-23. One last chance for Arizona, they get in field goal range, and they miss it wide left. Bears win, bears win. I'm sorry, but if your QB throws for zero TDs and four interceptions (as Rex Grossman of Chicago did), then you don't deserve to win. That defense is something special.

When MSU played Notre Dame, MSU had a 17 point lead in the 3rd quarter and was seemingly in control...it's just weird how that game looked so much like last night's game.

Ok so anyway...yesterday I biked about 15 miles to loosen up my muscles, and today I did another 4 miles on the elliptical to give my hip a little rest. It feels much much better than it did last week, but I'm still icing it and such just in case. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you can never be too careful with this stuff.

I think the general consensus for my race is to wear lightweight clothing because it WILL get warm during the latter part of the race (both me and the atmosphere). I hear I can buy some tearaway pants or shirts at the Salvation Army or something, so that I can throw them to the curb if I need to and not have to worry about any emotional attachments to any pieces of clothing. Kudos to my sister on that idea, because that's what she did last year and it worked out great.

The clothing is one thing I've been worried about, and here are two more things that I hope some people can give me an insight into....

1. What/when should I eat before the race?
2. How long should I warm up before the race?

For my 20 miler, I ate a bowl of oatmeal and a bagel with honey about 2 hours before the start and I felt great. I also had my Clif Shot Blocks during the run too. The problem with the oatmeal is that I may be leaving for the race about 3 hours before start time to avoid traffic problems, and oatmeal needs hot water....hmm. Regarding the warmup, I was in a hurry before the start of the 20 miler (because it was part of a 10 mile race) and I was only able to do about a half-mile warmup.....and then I pulled off a 2:20, on pace for a 3:04 marathon. I'm sure I'll want to do more warmup in Detroit because it will be colder, but I don't wanna tire myself out at the same time. So, what is an ideal warmup for a marathon? Any ideas on these would be greatly appreciated....

12 days away.