Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs for winning the NL Central Division title. I’m looking forward to seeing ecstatic Cubs fans when we run through Wrigleyville next Sunday.
My sincerest condolences go out to diary-writer Kathy with the passing of her mother. Even though my wife and I are in our low 40’s, we’ve done the nursing home thing and buried all four of our parents. We understand what you and your family are going through, and we wish you God’s peace and comfort.
I’m sitting in the airport terminal waiting to board my flight for a weeklong business trip to Connecticut. The big day is a week away, and I’m trying to think of something profound to say for my last diary entry before the race. I’m not sure how successful I’ll be. All the heavy, hard mileage is over, and we’re left with just a few miles to go to keep the legs loose. Nothing we can do this week will significantly enhance our performance next Sunday. This week is all about making final preparations and avoiding doing something stupid.
I'm more nervous going into this race than the Indy Mini not because I'm less prepared. Actually I'm well prepared. I've never been in better shape - I'm the leanest, fittest and lightest I've ever been in my life. Over the 18-weeks of training, I will have put in over 550 miles - that's 21 marathons of training - amounting to more than 95% of my planned mileage.
I’m nervous because the training has given me a healthy respect for 26.2 miles. It’s not a walk in the park. Eighteen weeks ago I didn’t have a true appreciation for the distance – now I do. I’ve also invested and sacrificed more for this race so I have “more to lose.” When I get anxious, I reassure myself that I will be able to complete the race because I have made the sacrifice and done everything I could to prepare. I focus on that “I can” attitude I spoke about in my first diary entry.
We can complete the race because each of us has done our best to train for it. Our training paths have all been different, but they share many things in common. We share the physical ups and downs of training: injury and healing, bad and good weather, interfering life-circumstances and schedules that work in our favor. We share the emotional ups and downs of training: depression and exhilaration, disappointing and great runs, wanting to give up and resolving to go the next mile. It is this shared experience that brings individual runners into community.
For all but a few, we will not be named champions, but we will be champions just the same. We will conquer the beast called a marathon and live to celebrate our victory. We will be – no, are – heroes in the eyes of our children, our spouses, our families and our friends. We will be – no, are – members of an elite segment of the population that has trained for and completed a marathon.
For the first-timers like me, we are guaranteed to set a new personal record (PR) with each step we take. Five months ago our PR was DNT (did not train). That PR is history. The next one to go by the wayside is DNS (did not start). Then with each stride we will set a new PR. Think about that when you feel like giving up in the middle of the race. Think ‘one more stride – one more PR.’ For those who do have to drop out, don’t be disappointed with your PR of DNF (did not finish). Instead, make your PR the length of the race you are able to complete. And for those of us who do cross the finish line, our PR will be a specific time. Our time will be determined by our unique combination of genetics, training, pacing and race strategy, and, therefore, it will be a time that we can be uniquely proud of without any need to compare it to others.
My goals are to have fun, enjoy the experience, finish and finish strong. I’d like to run under 4 hrs 22 min (sub-10:00 min/mi), but I will be happy with any time.
It has been a humbling honor to write these diary entries these past six months. I hope you have gained inspiration and a few laughs by reading my journey. I know I’ve been the most verbose of all the diary writers, and I thank you for sticking with me. I look forward to meeting many of you on October 7.
Oh yeah, how did my training go this week? Nothing special other than life circumstances got in the way Thursday and Friday so I missed one mid-week run. This final week I hope to run four-five miles Monday and Tuesday and two-three miles on Thursday.
Enjoy the last week of tapering and see you in Chicago!
Until we meet next Sunday …
One step (just a few more left) at a time,
Dave
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