its here...

im not sure if you know... (cuz i havent really talked about it that much....ha) at 7pm tonight i will be running 8 loops around a lake equaling 26.2 miles. its currently raining. the humidity is high. a chance of thunder & lightning is looming... but i cant do anything to change that. all i can do is trust my training and RUN. and hopefully run fast. (i do have a few plans...)

unlike my other 5 marathons, i actually really followed a solid training program this time (and i was pretty close to what i was actually supposed to). my lowest week (other than this taper week) was 24. thats 24 miles more than one of the training weeks i had last year. my legs feel strong and my mind is focused. i know that anything can happen when i step up to the starting line tonight, but i am better prepared than i have ever been, and perhaps thats why the butterflies are still here this morning. (and ive cried twice this morning already... oh boy, were in for a long day)

i know this distance. i know it very well. i even went out and did 26.2 during this training cycle "just because". but theres something about racing this distance that im just not sure about. yes, i've done 5 marathons. i cant say that ive actually raced a marathon. tonight i will not have my phone on me to text, call, take pics, check out whats going on in the world. i wont have to carry any gu or snacks or water with me. all i have to do is focus on the road beneath my feet and run run run.

its funny that the one thing ive really been focusing on doing is whats actually scaring me: running a marathon.

the last 18 weeks havent been for nothing. ive taken my body, my mind, and my soul to places they have never been before. my friends and family have stood beside me through it all (despite thinking im crazy, which is fairly accurate) and i couldnt ask for anything more. i know the marathon is a personal journey with a fairly selfish outcome... tonights race isnt going to benefit anyone other than myself but i couldnt do it without everyone supporting me.

so despite "knowing this distance", tonight is going to be a very different experience for me. ive never run a night race. ill be in a different state. and im gonna run this marathon in a way ive never done before.

but i know im ready. "it will be hard, but it will be worth it".


 

1. maine marathon 2009

4:43:00

2. sugarloaf marathon 2010

4:15:25

3. maine marathon 2010

4:43:30

4. maine marathon 2011

4:18:03

5. mount desert island marathon 2011

4:28:38

...im also kinda sick of seeing the number 4...

sorry maine, i think its time to give another state a chance.

hey massachusetts, lets do this!

i gotta feelin...