After the record: aching legs, tired arms, sore ... jaw?

I think I've turned NDP Leader Jack Layton into a big joggling fan (photo courtesy of STWM).

A brief rundown of the race:

Chip time (which will be used for the Guinness World Record): 2:50:09.

Gun time: 2:50:12.

Number of drops: 2 (one at 25.5K, one just before the finish line as I tried to sprint in for sub-2:50 - doh!).

Gum chewing: Yes, I did succeed in chewing gum throughout the entire race! I began chewing three sticks of Extra Bubblemint about two minutes from the start and had planned to rotate through a whole pack, but ended up chewing the same three pieces for two hours and 50 minutes.

NEW JOGGLING WORLD RECORD!

2:50:09! (Photo by Mike Turner)

Now, to nap...

Reebok's Joggler display

Here I am in the Reebok Joggler display at the marathon expo. They had stacks of juggling balls and a sign with juggling instructions – it was a big hit.

I'm getting much faster at teaching people how to juggle; some learned the three-ball cascade within a couple of minutes.

My left hamstring is sore from too much velomobiling yesterday, and I still have a nagging asthmatic cough. Otherwise, I feel great.

The last day

Exactly one day from now, I'll either be celebrating a new world record or drowning my sorrows in a stiff cup of Gatorade.

My nerves are wracking.

Gum-chewing, joggling day nears

I just found out that this Sunday is officially World Gum-Chewing Day. Is that perfect or what? I don't think there's a World Joggling Day, but I'm going to declare September 30, World Gum-Chewing While Joggling Day.

The Reebok joggling display at the marathon race expo joggled my mind. Imagine coming face-to-face with a life-sized version of yourself joggling. Freaky. Anyway, kudos to Reebok for recognizing the fun of the sport.

Joggler slideshow on CBC.ca

Peter Hadzipetros, who writes an excellent running and fitness blog called 'Back of the Pack,' put together a joggling slideshow that appeared on the main page of cbc.ca/news today. It's just over four minutes long. To view it, click HERE.

CBC.ca also just launched their marathon page HERE.

Last night I did a final test joggle at marathon goal pace of 4:00/km. Everything appears to be in working order. I did pull some muscles in my hand a couple of days ago while trying to open a stubborn wine bottle cap (Coyote's Run Pinot Noir 2004, Niagara - delicious!), but that seems to have healed.

Tomorrow, I have a crazy day of appearances and interviews.

The Reebok booth at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon expo will reportedly have a giant picture of me, which is exciting and kind of scary. I'll be doing some joggling demonstrations at the booth at 11 am and 5:30 pm.

Joggler famous for an hour

Yesterday I got a taste of what it's like to be famous.

The Scotiabank MarathonKIDS program invited me, along with elite runners Danny Kassap and Ryan Day, to an event at a grade school in the north end of Toronto.

About 120 kids were busy training every week until they reached a total of 37 km. They'll run the final 5 km of the marathon distance at the 5K of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront races on Sunday.

These kids were so full of enthusiasm. When I got there, I was immediately swarmed and bombarded with questions about joggling. I must have signed all 120 T-shirts.

Now I'm fully motivated to break the record on Sunday.