Today is Tuesday and I'm still a bit sore from my 29.2 mile day on Sunday. 

Yes, I ran and completed the Inaugural Santa Barbara Marathon two days ago! I think it was my 26th marathon.

Yes, I did run 29.2 miles. 26.2 mile marathon plus 3 miles of running before the race. But more on that later.

On Saturday morning I said that my goal for the race was to finish with a smile on my face.  Goal achieved! I also said that, based on my level of training, my goal was to run something under 3 1/2 hours...I finished this one in 3:16...the other goal achieved.

That's not to say that I wasn't disappointed with a few things.  But hold that thought.

So Saturday morning I ran 2 miles, after 3.5 mile runs on Thursday and Friday.  Yes, for those paying attention, you are correct, I did not heed my own advice and take at least one day completely off.

I stopped by Fresh & Easy in Newbury Park to pick up some stuff to bring for my overnight stay in Santa Barbara....mmmm...chocolate chunk muffins for breakfast (at 5 a.m. I eat whatever will go down), water, Gatorade, snacks, etc. I also opted to grab a pre-made turkey sandwich, chips, fruit, trail mix and ice tea for the lunchtime drive to Santa Barbara.

Ah yes, eating a 4 course meal in the car reminds me of this humorous video spoof on our hands free cell phone law.

Race number pickup was at Santa Barbara City College.  The expo was not particularly large but everyone was really nice and it was fun to walk around.  I met up with my friend Chaz (congrats on your 3:38 dude!).

View of the Pacific right next to the BacaraI splurged and decided to stay at the fancy schmancy Bacara Resort in Goleta, just 1 1/2 miles from the start of the race.  I spent an extra $100 on this place but my rationale was that I could sleep a little longer and walk to the start of the race. Most people took busses leaving by 5:15 am for the start of the 6:30 am race.  I also thought it would be fun to convince my wife to come with, but she opted not to.

So here I am at this fancy hotel all alone with no place to go. Yeah!!! The cell phone didn't work there, nor did the wireless access! But luckily they had "free" high speed internet access (offset by the $24 they charged me to park the car for one measly day).

One thing I DID do right on Saturday was immediately unpack my stuff and arrange it for Sunday morning.  I untied my shoes, I attached the timer chip to the shoes (and tried it on to make sure the chip didn't impede my running), affixed the bib number to my race shirt, laid out my shorts, socks, additional layers and cap. Then I laid out my race bag (used to transport items to the finish line), 2 bandaids (to cover up the nipplage), petroleum jelly (to slather on my toes, heel and chafe-worth body parts), room key and watch.

What to do for dinner?  I started getting hungry at 5 pm and opted to venture out into Goleta. A few miles down the road I found civilization...including a completely packed Costco store (there was a long line at the food stands outside too!).

Most people try to carb up the night before a marathon by eating pasta.  But I wasn't in a pasta mood.  So naturally I, uh, stopped by the Baja Fresh adjacent to Costco and ordered quesadilla with chicken and an order of rice.  Probably not the best choice the night before a marathon.  In fact, in hindsight it was a pretty lame choice as I rarely eat that much cheese at one sitting.

So as I notice as I get in the car that stomach is gurgling and the seat belt feels tighter.  Yes, cheese quesadilla w/chicken probably not the wisest choice for final pre-race meal. But heck, it tasted good!

I spent the rest of the night sending mostly obnoxious (as usual) tweets from my http://twitter.com/ConejoJoe Twitter page and caught many episodes of that great MSNBC documentary "Lockup."

Time passed by and I before I know it my wife is sending me emails telling me what an idiot I am for staying up so late the night before a marathon.  OK, she was right.  So at 11 pm I went to bed.  But not until I had a chocolate chunk muffin for dessert.

YA KNOW, THIS POST IS GETTING KINDA LONG. I SHALL CONTINUE IN THE NEXT POST!