"Why is the last mile the hardest mile?" - The Smiths
I have not posted in eons...and that is because I've been running...hard core my friends...4 days a week plus an extra day to incline walk. I have conquered distances as long as 20 miles...without even a bathroom break, well a legitimate one. One truly knows they have reached the pinnacle of running when they shamelessly wet their pants in lieu of screwing with their finish time. I have learned to eat on the run, plant waters on my route, and boldly show myself in public with a third breast like protrusion...aka my small bottle of water that I carry in my sports bra. I have learned to tape my knees and foam roll my ass. I now strap a Garmin to my wrist and have my miles measured accurately. I have learned that my former mileage of 12 per week is for sissies, and can now do that on one day without even a second thought. My yearly half marathon is now a regular Sunday morning. I have arrived running world and I am ready...I think.
Since my 20 miler three weeks ago it's been all downhill. It's called tapering. The distances shorten and with that so is my patience. I'm anxious for the big day to be here, yet kind of don't want it to come. I feel aches in my body that I can't decipher between training pains or something serious that maybe I should be referring to a doctor. Every dang acorn and branch on the ground threatens to trip me and destroy 4 months of diligent training. Heck I told a woman on the treadmill next to me to remove her barbell from her treadmill before it could fall in my direction. This is what dreams about to come true are made of...pure panic!
I have wanted to run this race for the last 20 years and the feelings I have now I can only liken to getting married and birthing babies. Months of planning about to culminate, marinated in the fear that it's going to get screwed up, and seasoned with the anxiety that once it's over you'll not even know what to do with yourself, having planned for so long. At least with childbirth I knew my physique would improve. This rigorous running schedule has pushed my body to the leanest it's been in recent memory. When this is over will I still be able to keep myself going like this? There were 64 runs scheduled on my plan...and I've only missed one...one measly 5 mile run because I was writhing in bed like the Exorcist with a 103 degree fever. I demanded antibiotics so that just two days later I'd be back on the road running 10 miles...and I was. Is that determination and will all going to fade now into a puddle of fatigue with a capital FAT?
Breathe, I tell myself. Just breathe and get through next Sunday. Wait, no, that's not right...enjoy next Sunday. I have earned the right to enjoy this. I have worked harder for this than I've worked for just about anything and I deserve to savor every minute. So here I go folks. I'd like to say I will write before it, but I don't think I will. All the running has replaced my need and energy for writing, so I will end with the musical quote I was saving for my last pre-race post. See you all on the other side of 26.2!
"Who can go the distance, we'll find out in the long run."- The Eagles
*Miles ran this week 24. Days until marathon 8.
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