Chicago Marathon: 11 days

Exactly 11 days from now, I will be more than three hours into the Chicago Marathon. Eleven days! It seems like just yesterday that the countdown clock was at 114 days.

Actually, it seems like just yesterday that I was counting down to my first marathon. But apparently that was about 10 months ago. At the time, I was thrilled that I would forever afterward be able to say, “I am a marathoner.” Yes, after I crossed the finish line I did send out a mass text message with that same message, but in all capital letters. I’m still thrilled to be able to say that, but now I have a new phrase I want to say: “I run marathons.” If I make it through Chicago, that statement will be true.

The training is done, and now I’m just maintaining my fitness, still running but not overdoing it, and trying not to go nuts. As a friend of mine could attest, I had a bit of a melt down the other day, and I’ve also been a little more scattered than usual. I’ve also been paranoid about a pain in my hip and an Achilles tendon that isn’t quite right. I worry that I’ll get sick, or that the weather will be hot, or that I’ll oversleep and miss the race.

But in reality, things are OK. The hip pain is just about gone and was likely connected to new shoes. The Achilles tendon is hanging in there and hasn’t gotten any worse. The weather forecast is too far out to trust, but heat won’t be an issue. It might rain, but a high of 53 and a low of 34 are just about ideal running temperatures, so I won’t complain. And of course I won’t oversleep, because I’m sure I’ll set several alarms and will be amped anyway. So I need to stop worrying, right? Right.

It doesn’t hurt that last night I ran a fast four miles with the ever-cool Lodi Running Club. My legs were happy, my brain relaxed a little and everyone encouraged me more than they know. That’s what friends are for, after all.