With the money situation resolved, and a late lunch consumed, I embarked on a long walk to the site of the marathon registration and fitness expo. The weather is wonderful, warm for the season with an ever-present breeze that I imagine has something to do with being situated on Lake Ontario. (View from my hotel room.)
I made an impulse decision that I hope works out well for me during the race. At the Brooks vendor display in the fitness expo, I decided to upgrade to the Ghost 10 series. They feel like a softer version of my Ghost 9s that I trained in. The toe box has a softer mesh design. Plus, the woman who cashed me out presented me with a "growler" jug -- I suppose that I will run happy if I can fill up that thing with beer afterwards ;-)
On Saturday I wore the new shoes out for a long walk to break them in and keep my leg muscles active. I went into the iconic CN Tower, then on to Chinatown for lunch and souvenir shopping. A few photos from ground level and from tower level! (Bottom right is the little airport on Toronto Island which I depart from Monday.)
One aspect that quickly jumped out at me while on the street was how ethnically diverse Toronto is. I wasn't sure whether that was due to tourism in the downtown area, but I was curious and confirmed that Toronto is considered one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world! Of course, the marathon is drawing in about 25,000 participants from 60 countries, I heard on the news.
I took advantage of the local urban diversity in the foods I powered up on over the last two days. Clockwise from upper left: pork rib ramen from Ajisen in Chinatown; chicken gyros dinner from Alexandro's just outside the hotel; some of the tastiest General Tao's chicken I've ever tried, from the Waterfront Deli right across the street from the hotel; the standard pre-race dinner: a Chipotle burrito bowl with chicken, black beans and guacamole. I should burn this all off and then some, tomorrow.
I'm pretty full, but I think rest is the best thing now to store up energy. Hope I did not do too much walking! Time to turn in for a good night's sleep. I don't have high hopes for my performance tomorrow, but as long as I finish in time for the Patriot's game at 8:30PM I'll be happy! See you next on the other side of the race...
