Run Tom, Run

Only 48 days remaining until I will make 3rd official attempt at the marathon. I must say that I'm currently a mixed bag of emotions on this one. One would not think that a simple race could carry so much weight for an individual, but the marathon definitely does for me. My very first race I ever ran in was a half-marathon. My running career had just begun at the time and my original goal was to run the White Rock Marathon in Dallas. My first Half was just a part of my training plans, however when crossing the finish line I just couldn't stop thinking, "this is would be the HALFWAY mark of a marathon?" So, that ended that my first attempt at a marathon. It my first year running, so I'm not beating myself up over that one. However about 3.5 years ago I started making attempts again. The first was the Kona Marathon - IV between mile 16 & 17. Then came the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC - IV just before MILE 24. Then there was the Chicago Marathon - broke my leg in cycling accident halfway through my training. That brings me to here and once again training for the Chicago Marathon (this time with less cross training on the bike!) I'm a bit anxious and a bit nervous about this one. I know I'll feel much better once I can get one under my belt, but I'm just worried about that happening this time around. I'm beginning to feel that I might be cursed in this event. I don't think I could possibly express just how much crossing the finish line this time means to me.

That being said, the training is going well so far. I did my longest run since training for the DC Marathon two years ago this weekend. Many thanks to Jeremy for following me around on his bike to give me water, gatorade, and gu (kinda difficult to carry that stuff with you on a run). It was a fairly pleasant day, so I decided to run on Sat instead of my usual Sunday run. I think I'm actually going to switch to Sat for the next 3-4 long runs. We left from my house and 2 hour, 39 minutes, and 17 miles later we were back. The first 15-16 was great, but I definitely hit the wall with about 10 minutes left in the run. When I got to the house I knew beyond any doubt that I literally could not take another stride. I stopped in my yard and just laid there for a good 10 minutes. Probably could have stayed there much longer, but didn't want to worry the neighbors since I had literally collapsed in the yard. So, a good run, but a disappointing finish. 18 miles next weekend and then the big test the following weekend, 20 miles.