Friday, March 2, 2012

Marathon Time!

This weekend, I'm running the Napa Valley Marathon. This is my third full marathon. The marathon week butterflies have started and I'm beginning to panic a little. Have I trained adequately? Am I getting enough sleep this week? (The answer to that one is a definitive, no. Thanks, dogs, for vomiting all over the bedroom floor at 5:20 am today. 'Preciate that!) Am I hydrated?

I came across this at Mile Posts, with a Bible verse for each mile. I wish I'd found it sooner so I would have had time to memorize the verse for each mile. Instead, I'm just going to commit a couple of them to memory for when the going gets tough. And it will get tough. Mile 23 will suck, this I can guarantee.

I know it sounds trite, but the marathon is a life-changing event. You've got 26(.2) miles to confront and battle every fear, hesitation, laziness, weakness, and inadequacy you'e got. There are miles moments of agony, when you are certain you can never, ever finish this race and start contemplating how you could get out of it without actually running the rest.

This race, I'm committing to controlling my emotions, staying focused, running my own race, and seeing the beautiful. It's Napa Valley, after all. Every time I want to walk, or quit, or cry, I will drink in the gorgeous landscape that I have the privilege of running over and through.

My goals:
1. Finish under 5 hours (I know- I'm slow. Get over it.)
2. Finish strong, but with nothing left in the tank when I cross that line.
3. To see the beauty around me, in the runners and the vineyards and the hills.
4. To make the pain and suffering fruitful. (So many people in my life are in a bad place right now, for many different reasons. I don't know how to help any of them. So let me just offer my own struggles for them.)

And when I'm done, I'll be celebrating with a nice glass of Cakebread.