10 days

On this 10 day mark until Boston, I finally started stalking the weather sites.  Right now, we’re looking at this forecast -

I remember fondly the years I made my way into town to watch the Boston Marathon.  A sunny 80 degree forecast would be music to my ears.  Not anymore….  I could do without the rain part of this early forecast, but the low of 46 works beautifully.  I envision a perfect outfit of shorts, short sleeve shirt (w/ a long sleeve over it at the start, but no tears shed if I toss it), gloves, and my cap.  Gotta have the cap, since I ditched my carefully cultivated ponytail with one sharp pair of scissors last week (queue regret – but it’ll grow back).  If it does truly rain, I’ll have my trusty garbage back and my “race day” shoes in a bag to reveal only minutes before my wave is released.  As long as there’s no crazy talk about potentially cancelling the race due to a Nor’easter (what year was that?), I can bend with the best of them.  Just call me Gumby!

So about these 10 days…..

What will race day bring?  My speed is average and my mid-week runs continue to be my biggest challenge…BUT, I’ve managed to get all of my planned 20’s in.  For me, THAT’S the confidence booster I need at 10 days out.  Those 20’s tell me I have physically and mentally made the distance, especially the 20 I ran the morning after returning from Mexico.  That was the day I had little sleep, a total loss of 2 hours on the clock (due to time change between Mexico/US and turning the clocks ahead), and almost no running for that week in Mexico.  But I did it.  I’ll be counting on that experience and the other long runs somewhere around mile 17, maybe again at mile 21, and most definitely at mile 24.  Memory, don’t fail me now! 

I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’m happy, I’m grateful.  Most of all, I’m ready.