06 October 2007

On your marks, get set...

It's 8:03 p.m. As I type this. Twelve short hours from now I'll be lined up with Wave 2 and gradually moving forward toward the start line to begin running 26.2 miles.

I'm nervous but trying to stay calm. So I'm writing...nonsense probably, but this helps me cope.

I gave Debbie my bag o' stuff and just because I need to sort out in my head of what I gave her I'm going to list it here: big towel, small hand towel, short socks and long socks (depending on my mood), a blanket to cover her car seats for the ride back to my car, Ben Gay (yep – that minty smelling cream), fake Advil, band aids with antibiotics built in, a container of water pre-measured (K&E made fun of me for this) and another container with Endurox measured in with instructions for Debbie to mix the two and shake on her way to the finish line for me, and flip flops. She's going to pick up an orange and banana for me so I have something sugary to eat to get my sugar levels back up and then when I get back to my room I'm going to have my leftover chicken.

See – I have to plan this out or I'll go insane. This helps me stay focused and calm. I have to have a method to my madness or I'll be crazy. And what's funny is people already think I am because I'm planning this out.

I'm also visualizing. I'm trying to picture the beginning though it'll be something I've never seen before – thousands and thousands of people lining up to run. Craziness. Some will finish in just over 2 hours. More will finish between 3 and 4:30. The rest will come in hopefully before the end. And then you have the spectators surrounding the course. And bands. And people. And water breaks. And did I mention there will be people?

It's all too much to comprehend and yet I'm excited. I'm doing my best to stay calm. I'm breathing deeply, I'm preparing everything for the morning. I'm trying not to dwell on the miles or the pain which will inevitably arrive during and after the race. I'm just trying to dwell on the experience and what this is going to be.

I am going to complete a goal tomorrow. A goal that up until 9 months ago I didn't know I had in me. A goal that a year or 5 years or anytime before this moment I never would have thought possible. I've never been a runner...yet here I am: a runner.

And a runner I will be.

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