OK, I'm ready. Except for the clothes - I'm still humming and hawing about what to wear. But other than that, I've got everything set to. And I'm feeling nervous.
I got two contradicting pieces of advice on the clothing decision today. A Runner's World article I read said overdressing is common among first-time marathoners and the temperature once I get rolling will feel roughly 9 degrees hotter than the actual temperature. On the other hand, Susan Clairmont said she talked to people who ran the 5k and 10k today and they said the waterfront trail was windy and cold. I'm hoping I'll wake up just knowing what the right decision is.
My eight-year-old daughter just went to bed. I'm not sure I'll see her before we leave in the a.m. so she gave me a kiss on the hand and told me to rub it on my cheek when I was tired tomorrow and that it would be like she was pushing me on. I'm going use that tomorrow, I promise you.
While running a marathon is in many ways a solitary effort, it really requires my whole family. My wife encouraged me because she knows running a marathon was something I've always wanted to do and I'm in pretty good shape - who knows what the months and years ahead will bring, she said. But she's had endure weekend long runs of over three hours, managing our two kids for not just that period but the recovery time afterward. My super long runs were essentially day killers.
And of course that's less time for the kids with Dad. But I want my kids to enjoy a healthy lifestyle and I think the best way for them to learn that is to see it in action. I think setting difficult goals and striving to reach them is a good lesson too. Most rewarding things in life aren't instantaneously achieved but that's a tough lesson to pass on to your kids for whom gratification is easily attatinable these days. But you can't click-on a marathon, or play it on the Wii. Maybe that's me rationalizing my own selfish, self-gratifying behaviour but at the very least I hope my passion for it rubs off.
I'm now looking forward to tomorrow. It scares the hell out of me but that's a good thing - the last thing that scared me this bad was probably fatherhood. Smaller challenges - those to do with career or money or other such things - seem less daunting as I gain experience in life. But this feels strangely important, like something I really have to do for myself.
I'm ready, let's do this.
As soon as I figure out what to wear.
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