The emotions are setting in.

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I thought there would be torrential down pour this morning on my run, but it didn't happen. I am grateful for that. It would have been a dark cold wet 5 miles. I've escaped any really inclement weather this cycle which is sort of miraculous and awkward. I guess it is a mercy considering the winter training earlier this year. I am not complaining at all. 

The closer this marathon comes, the more I get sort of emotional that it is coming to a close. I feel like I can finally give myself permission to get excited about this race. When in the thick of things, when I am tickling 60 miles a week waking up at all kinds of  early hours, it is tough to get really excited because there is such incredible amounts of work to get done right in front of me. I couldn't get too far with my thoughts because I needed to take care of focusing on the next workout, the next mile, the next day or week. 

But now...I can start to visualize myself finding the starting corral. Warming up and stretching. Chatting with the strangers in queue to launch of the starting line. Without exactly knowing what the scene will be like, I can speculate at least the first few miles through downtown will have crowds. Thinning out going north and along the river, but still hanging on for when that last mile comes. Three turns and the finish line. 

I'll say it over and over again and mean it every time....this running is a privilege...and being able to run a marathon is special, an experience I know everyone doesn't get to have. Being able to train for 4.5 months straight is not something I take for granted. It isn't something everyone is able to have the time or space for because of the structures of life. 

My parents always emphasized an education is something that no one can take away. This running adventure I've been on sort of feels the same way. I am gathering stories so I can be the grandpa Thor someday and tell the youngsters about how there was a time in my mid 40s when I took up running and ended up running marathons. 

But first things first. 
Finish resting. Get to the start line healthy. 



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