There are only three days left until the Eugene marathon. I am, to say the least, excited for the race. I'm excited for the hoopla that accompanies big races. I'm excited to run and I'm excited to celebrate afterwards. In fact, I am most excited to get past the finish line in decent enough shape to celebrate properly at the small bars and brewpubs that line Eugene. Should I have trained harder? I'm not sure. I think that I should have trained more efficiently. I should have adjusted my diet months ago. I should have actually made a training log. I should I tracked my miles and I should have bought a watch. Instead, I just ran. I ran a lot, hoping that this would be enough. But now only days away from race day, I am feeling less than prepared. My left foot hurts and I am worried that it will cause me to drop mid-way through. I took a week off to see how the plantar fascia would heal and I'm impressed by how good it feels...while not running . But now time for the test: how will it feel during runs? So I did a short 5 miler with no pain and no stiffness afterwards. I took a day off and did an 8 miler. A little pain but not an injury. Yesterday, I went for a 13 miler. Felt okay. Some carry over pain today but nothing too bad. But that was just half the distance that I must run on Sunday. Worst of all, I felt genuinely tired after the 13 miler. Will I be able to finish this weekend? Yes. I always do. The question will be how long it will take. I hope it doesn't take long and I hope I'm not injured when I finish. That would be terrible because I can take pain, and at times I quite enjoy it, but no one can get pleasure from an injury. Additionally, it will really hamper the eating and drinking that I am so looking forward to after getting across the finish.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that I run marathons for the finish and what I do after finishing the race: I reward myself. What's life without rewards? I can be satisfied with the feeling of self-gratification to a point but there are times that I want more, I need more. But I need an excuse to treat myself. Excuses are very important to me. So I run marathons. Nothing longer. Nothing shorter. Too short and I don't feel like I need a reward. Too long and I may not be able to enjoy the reward. A life full of running, excuses, and pleasure. Not a bad life. If only I can find a way to add some traveling to it and it would be perfect. Well I have 3-plus hours to thinking about on Sunday so I'll shelve that notion till then. Now, I focus on my foot and the race.
