It is now May 23rd and I am 13 days from my very first marathon! So close yet sooo far away. The week after the 18 miler, we ran 20 miles (such a surreal experience!) and then the 3rd week was 17. That was a hard three weeks! The 20 miler went well, the 17 wasn't as enjoyable. Burnout was the only way to describe it. But we made it through, and tapering had finally begun.
As I reflect on the past 4 months and look forward to the next two weeks, I've realized the hard part is over. Yes, I have 26.2 miles left to run, but I've made it through training. I made it through the hilly long runs, the track workouts, the early Saturday mornings, the early Friday nights, the planning and organizing and schedules. The sore muscles and exhaustion and at times, the thoughts of "What am I doing?!". I've raised over $3,000 for a very worthy cause, which is my biggest accomplishment in all of this. I've learned about myself, about life, and about running. The marathon will truly be a celebration of the last four months and all the hard work that went into getting me to the start line. Whatever happens after the gun goes off doesn't matter all that much.
These next two weeks are rest and rejuvenation as I gear up to run San Diego on June 5th! Wish me luck!
It's going to be such an experience!!
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