One Month

It is weird to be writing this since November 4th has always seemed so far away. But yet it is now only one month away. My decision to sign up for the NYC Marathon was kind of out of the blue, meaning it was not something that I spent a lot of time thinking about. I got the idea to run a marathon and then signed up a few days later. Since April I have had this race on my mind, but it was more in the back of my mind. I had other races to train for over the summer and so I focused on them. I worked on building a base throughout my triathlon training so that when it was time to jump head first into marathon training I was ready.

As always, things have not gone exactly as planned. I loved my training when I was also focused on training for triathlons and when I had no other responsibilities to worry about. Being in school is the thing that has really affected my training. I don't have beautiful trails to run on for days and can't go out for a run whenever I choose. The added stress of assignments has constantly left me pushing off runs in order to get things done in time. I have tried not to pay attention to all the countdowns about how little time is left before race day.

Today was when it really hit me though. In one month from today, although on a Sunday and not on a Thursday, I will be toeing the line of my first marathon. Despite struggles with my training the race is finally starting to feel real. I can finally imagine being in New York being a part of something that has inspired and driven me so many times. I spent the first half of today scared shitless about the dwindling about of time I have left to prepare for such a big task. But after going out for a run, even though it was a pretty terrible one, I became excited again about finishing this journey that I have started.

I am not ready to call myself a marathoner, but hopefully in a few weeks when all of my long training runs are behind me I will feel confident and ready. I also went from being terrifyingly nervous for tomorrow's 16 mile long run to excited and anxious. Instead of dreading these remaining long runs I am ready to embrace them, since they are the key to me being marathon ready. Sometimes it is hard to forget that I am a beginner and this is my first marathon. I should not be training the same as someone who is running their 20th marathon. I am doing this because I want to prove to myself that I can. No added pressure necessary.