11 weeks to go...

I'm now officially signed up to run the Flying Pig Marathon, in Cincinnati, on May 3rd. It'll be my first full marathon. My first of many, I hope. I'm excited, and scared. 26.2 miles. At once. Ugh.

I've been training now for 6 weeks, and it's been going pretty well. Some days I feel really good, others, my legs feel like concrete pillars. Today, I'm somewhere in between, leaning towards pillars. Good thing it's my off day.

From here on out, my long runs take me into territory I've never been in, namely, more than 14.5 miles. And even some of my more recent long runs, which have ranged from 8-14.5 miles, seem more like runs of attrition than training runs. Don't get me wrong, I love going out for these runs, but by the end, I'm beat. Some of it has to do with all the mileage necessary to train for a marathon, I'm sure. And on race day, I'll be both excited and properly tapered. Still, I'm back to testing both my physical limits and my mental limits too. Odds are that this is a good thing. I'm 100% certain they will both be put to the most severe, athletic test I've ever attempted. I'm already in fear of the wall I'll hit at some point past mile 20. Hell, I can only hope it's after mile 20. Any sooner than that, and I'll be in a world of hurt.

Nonetheless, fear & anxiety aside, I'm stoked for May 3rd, so I continue to train. I actually enjoy the training a lot. Every day is a challenge right now. And not always b/c of the individual workout itself, but to get through the miles AFTER having gone through everything leading up to that workout. Take this Sunday for example. 15-mile long run. Can I do that? Sure. What I don't know is how those final 2 miles will feel like to end a 42-mile week. I suspect they'll suck like few other miles I've run before. I'll curse the pain in my glutes, the fatigue in my quads, but I'll be smiling the whole way b/c I'll know I'm so close to home and getting to stop. Pleasure & pain, all at once. And then once I'm inside, taking a shower, thinking about what to make for dinner, they'll have been absolutely glorious. But not because I'm done with the miles, but because I did them.