Go, you chicken fat, go away!

Tip to keep fingers from going cold:

Keep them under your armpits*

*May not be practical for running.

The marathon is next week? Good luck when ever it is, I'm sure you'll be fine.

Burt, good luck in Mesquite, I think you are set up for a great race.

good luck at mesquite this weekend. until it is 15 degrees in arizona i don't believe you that it's cold.

how is our support team shaping up? do you have the team in pace?

Chris - My armpits do smell like roses, so at least they would be fragrant.

Flatlander - thanks for the encouragement.

allie - Did I say cold? I meant old. I dressed up in old man's clothes. It wasn't cold. Duh.

Rooster - I'm a one man wrecking crew. When AZ sends someone, they send their finest.

Hi Burt. Do you tend to get cramps a lot while running? I guess the electrolytes in Gatorade could help avoid those, but it might be a lot sloshing around in your stomach. So I'd say just play it by ear and see how it goes, but I bet you'd be fine without drinking it every aid station.

You'll do great Burt. Can't wait to hear about it.

I'm not sure if you can get it in the US but there is something called Nuun that you can get to help with electrolytes. They are tablets that you dissolve in a couple of seconds in a cup of water (you just carry the tablets around and use the cups of water at the water station). Might be worth a look

Well, I sweat a lot. I think that makes me lose salts which causes the cramping. I plan on replenishing as often as possible, but I will play it by ear. Or by sloshing.

Burt, try eating a banana about an hour before the marathon, that will help with the cramping. And, of course, the gatorade at every aid station: walk through them, you will loose a few seconds but at least you will drink the whole cup and have more energy at the end. best of luck as always.

I add some elete to my water when it is hot on long runs. it comes in little half ounce plastic bottles and you just add a few drops to some water. could be tough to do on the run in a race though. here is the info:

http://www.eletewater.com/

All it is is concentrated sea water I think. I will try to find some and bring it with me if you want.

If that fat old guy can run all the way to the cemetery without breaking a sweat, you should finish under 4 no problem :)

Eric - Bananas are on the list. Thanks.

Rooster - does it taste like seawater, too? When I did the Havasu Half, Rhett and I got this Cramp No More stuff in our bags. Nasty. I could not drink it. But I'll try some.

RT - I know. I'm glad he didn't go into cardiac arrest.

if you want to have plenty of salt replacement without too much added weight or sloshing, try salt tablets 2 or 3 times during the run. i took 1 S!Cap every hour during pinhoti and never had any cramping issues. S!Caps, Endurolytes, SaltSticks, and various other glorified salt pills all work pretty well...

Good Luck!

That would have been an interesting twist to the vide. It ended sadly enough as it was. Good song and video though :)

I sweat a ton, too. But I obviously sweat a lot less when it is cool outside. It sounds like this marathon won't be a blazing one, so that could help, too. I've heard of salt tablets being useful (but more for ultras), but I'd suggest going easy on this type of thing if you haven't tried it in training. That's a good general rule. Anyway, best wishes on your race! Looking forward to hearing a great report.

Good luck Burt! I agree that taking a lot of fluids is very helpful. I took liquid at every single aid station in both marathons I've run and it helped me a lot. I have a tough stomach though and only get sloshing once every blue moon.

OOOh I have a useless stomach LOL sloshing no good for me, but I still drink allot and take energy gels so I just take sloshing head on and if need be puke a little LOL

You will do great Burt just keep that taper going well and streeeeeetch please stretch this week as you doing less your muscles will shrink honest only slightly not noticable like a deflating balloon but they get tighter when not in use :-)

Sounds like a good plan to me, Burt. I drank gatorade at every aid station except the first one, never peed during the whole marathon, and never felt sloshy. You are going to be fine. If you are worried about electrolytes get up early enough that you can eat a real breakfast a few hours before the race, like a banana and eggs with salt and maybe some bacon.

i just watched the chicken fat video....so funny! Good luck with the marathon

Burt, dirty deeds done dirt cheap, that's real hard rock. Good luck saturday, consistent, buy a pair of $1 gloves at the dollar store or put the dollar in the slots? Cold fingers or maybe rich?

Stay Kool, Have a Good Time, B of BS Rools out

Good luck Burt! You are going to do awesome. Are you using any Gu/Clif Shots?

Good luck Burty. I think you'll do great!

Yeah i agree either buy a dollar pair of gloves or just use some old socks and chuck away when warm LOL

Breakfast 3 hours before a marathon very advisable or it will be a puke fest :-)

Thanks everyone. The cheap gloves sound like a great idea. Or I can use a pair of April's stinky Army socks. I plan on bringing some Hammer Gels, too.

I was going to recommend cheap gloves too. I have done this for all of the SGM's I have run, and just thrown them on the side of the road if I got too hot.