To Run A Marathon

To run a marathon, all you need is the will, the desire and the right preparation. In the end, if you do all those things, you can finish a marathon.

In Cleveland, I ran a marathon. I finished a marathon. In Baltimore, I ran another marathon. I finished another marathon. Going in relaxed with no expectations and just the right conditions gave me an extra boost that helped me to improve how quickly I ran that second marathon.

In less than a week I'm going to Cincinnati. I've done this before, right? Wrong. I've never 'raced' a marathon. And to qualify for Boston, I'm going to have to race this marathon. That is a huge difference. No matter what, I expect pain; lots of pain. It's inevitable. But will it be worse? Will it onset earlier? That's my expectation. And what if it comes on around mile 19 or 20? I've never hit the wall before. Perhaps it is because I've never actually raced a marathon before. It's like I've never done this before. It is different. But I'm going in with my eyes wide open and like the two times before, I am scared and don't know what to expect. This time it is for different reasons. I suppose if I run into trouble, I can always slow to a walk if necessary and still come across in decent time. I have the 30k to help me realize how close I am. But then, 18.6 miles leaves an uncertain 7.6 miles to go. Lots can happen in that period of time. A lot. Will it be great? I hope so.

3:15:59 or better. If I can do this, it will be the single greatest accomplishment in my life to this point. Realizing just how close I am almost brings me to tears. I can only imagine what it will feel like for real.