I cant believe race week (read: best week) is upon us. I started my journey to run my eighth marathon 120 days ago, and in four days Ill toe my feet to the line.The path hasnt been the smoothest. I had to miss a whole week of training for foot pain, I didnt finish two workouts within two weeks of the marathon, and there were many days -- even after I completed a run -- when I doubted myself. But sometimes the training is what makes it all worth it.Ive reached the tapering part of the training cycle, which is probably the toughest portion: Ive reduced my running mileage, my food and water intake matters more and sleep is even more important. Meanwhile, I have more and more time to stress about how my body is feeling. So the more you can relax, de-stress, rest and stretch, the better youll feel going in to race day.About 75 percent of the approximately 50,000 participants will be running their first New York City marathon. But even if this is your 50th marathon, race day is always special. Youve put in the work, and now its time to reap the benefits of your dedication. Enjoy the day and the atmosphere and -- above all -- enjoy the people who scream your name, hand you water and make the experience once in a lifetime.I cant predict how Sunday will go, but you can count on this: It will be my fifth New York marathon, Ill have my name written on pink duct tape, espnW will be on my hat, my favorite city will be the background and two million people will be cheering me on. As Kathrine Switzer said, If youre losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon.Whether youre on the streets of New York, running in the race or watching on ABC or ESPN2, the New York City Marathon is a 26.2-mile block party, and I encourage you to join in!Some tips and reminders for race day:Remember, you paid for this. Painful or not, at some point you thought this was a good idea.Trust your training. Theres a reason why you train for four months to run for about four hours (give or take).The medal and your celebration drink-of-choice afterward will be worth it.Whether you run your goal time or not, you finished a marathon. At the end of the day, that is pretty cool.New York spectators are loud and exciting, but be careful of the crowd on First Avenue.?They can make you go faster than you maybe should with 10 miles left. At the same time, let them carry you through the pain.Look up from the road. New York is scenic in its own right, so dont forget to look at the worlds best skyline.Duct tape your name to your shirt, or have it written on you somehow. It makes all the difference to the crowd.Youre part of a great parade. Smile, laugh and maybe cry, and at the end of the day be grateful for what your body was able to accomplish.Dont try anything new during the race.You can never have enough body glide.Training Notebook: Longest run:?16 miles. All three of my 16-milers have been completed. Time to taper!! Hardest run:?Final 10-mile tempo run. I had to stop after seven miles because of fatigue and a sore hamstring. Highest weekly mileage:?51 miles. Biggest accomplishment:?Having only three runs standing between me and the starting line!Megan Flood is a seven-time marathoner and half marathoner. She is on a quest to qualify for the Boston Marathon and hopes New York 2016 is her ticket to Boston. You can follow her progress every other week here on espnW.com and on Twitter @meganflood11. Toronto Maple Leafs Jerseys . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Bruce Boudreau Jersey .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. http://www.authentichockeyshopmapleleafs.com/grant-fuhr-maple-leafs-jersey-c-37/ . 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American guard Rotnei Clarke shrugged off a surprise benching to spark the Illawarra Hawks to Sundays crushing 109-78 victory over the New Zealand Breakers at WIN Entertainment Centre.The NBLs MVP in 2014, Clarke had one of his best games of the season, scoring a game-high 22 points off the bench in his teams fifth win.Illawarra had six players in double figures as they avenged Friday nights 15-point loss to the Breakers in Auckland.The Hawks overcame a nervous start and the loss of star import Marvelle Harris (ankle) after four minutes to be up 26-20 at quarter-time, with live-wire guard Mitch Norton scoring eight points.Clarke had four points before pouring in 11 in the second quarter, as Illawarra surged to a 56-44 halftime lead.The Hawks showed no signs of slowing down in the second half, sharing the workload at both ends of the court and stretching the margin to 19 at three-quarter time.Illawarra were never threatened down the stretch and boosted their win-loss record to 5-6.The Breakers are onn the road against the Cairns Taipans next Sunday, while Illawarra have a Sunday away game against injury-plagued titleholders Perth.dddddddddddd.The Hawks came out and played with a lot of courage and heart and unfortunately we didnt match that, Breakers coach Paul Henare said.This has been our third double header in three weeks and now we get a couple of days to regroup and prepare for next Sundays game in Cairns.Breakers swingman Kirk Penney conceded it was a good wake-up call for the Breakers.That was a good kick in the butt for us, he said.For Hawks coach Rob Beveridge, it was solid defence that really drove his side, particularly after the loss of Harris.Im hoping that game and that performance will be a turning point for us in our season, he said.Marvelle will get treatment from our medical staff this week and I expect hell be a good chance of playing next Sunday. 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