Marathon Eve, Eve ...

I run in my 1st marathon on Sunday morning and I'm starting to feel a little anxious tonight.

It all started a few years ago when Lisa and I traveled to Houston to watch her dad run in his 1st marathon. At the time, I was overweight and convinced that I didn't have the right frame to run. As we sat at the finish line, I was inspired by the runners.

These people were really putting it all out there and you could see the joy on their faces as they crossed the line. All of their hard work was paying off and it was really fun being a part of the crowd cheering them on. I remember thinking, "Maybe I'll run a 1/2 marathon some day."

I ran the White Rock 1/2 Marathon last year, beating my goal finish time of 2 hours by over 12 minnutes. I told Lisa's dad, who ran with me, just after the finish that I can't imagine that being the halfway point.

After Claire was born, I took some time off of training to make sure that Lisa had the support she needed. In June, when Claire was 4 months old, I started training again.

Training in the summer sucks! No matter how early you get up, it's still too hot to run. There were plenty of summer runs where I was completely discouraged and doubted that I'd be able to make my goal of a sub-4hr marathon.

627 miles after climbing out of bed at 5AM on that first morning, I'm feeling optomistic. I've completed a 20 mile run with gas left in the tank. I think I can hold a pace that will beat my 4hr goal. My body feels recovered after a couple of weeks of tapering.

I'm excited about Sunday and I'll have a nice cheering section. Lisa will be there with Claire and a huge sign she made for me. My parents and my sister will be there. Lisa's parents will be there. I know that will help, especially since Lisa and her family will see me run at multiple points in the race.

I'll be anxious at the start line, and there will be doubts that creep into my mind. However, when that gun goes off, none of that will matter. I'm going to run the best race I can and hope that it's good enough make my goal.

See you at the finish line!