Kicking and Screaming

Why is a twenty miler so much more nerve racking than the actual marathon?

Is it because there won't be fans cheering me on at mile 19.5? Or is it because there won't be anyone waiting for me at the finish line? Is it just because there isn't an actual finish line? Maybe training runs are so much harder than the actual race because in between the training runs, I somehow have to squeeze in my day job. Not to mention grocery shopping. And cooking. And laundry. (And when you're training like this, there is SO MUCH LAUNDRY.)

Come to think of it, I've run more marathons than twenty mile training runs. That could be another reason why I'm so uncomfortable tonight.

Plus, The Legs are tired. And that is not alleviating this looming apprehension. Not one bit. The Legs are tingling, sort of. They feel a little heavy, and kind of warm.

Do you hear that, Legs? I really KNOW you're tired. Honest. But you can do it.

You can push through tomorrow. Push! For twenty miles. Yep, twenty miles. I know we've already ran 25 miles this week, but how much FUN did you have running those miles? We can re-live almost ALL that fun again tomorrow morning. For twenty miles tomorrow we can stride and dash and gallop. We can scamper up hills and then scuttle back down them. Because this is San Francisco, Legs - there will be hills. We can jog, or we can sprint, or we can trot. Hell, we can even SKIP if it makes us happy. We can kick and scream, too, as long as we're moving forward.

One step at a time. One mile at a time.

We will finish tomorrow. And we will finish strong.

Kicking and screaming, for joy.