The night before

There are some things we have control over in life, and some things we have no control at all over.

The weather is one of those things that we just have no control over.

I have trained for 12+ weeks to run a sub 3:15 marathon. I am in shape to do it. I am here in Boston, ready to race.

And it is supposed to be close to 90 degrees tomorrow, during race time.

The B.A.A. has sent out multiple emails to runners. If you haven't heard, they have taken the unprecedented step of offering a deferment option, allowing runners that don't cross the starting line tomorrow to be in the race for next year without having to requalify. The last email recommends that runners who did not run the qualifying time (such as charity runners), runners who have any medical conditions, runners who are not acclimated to high temperatures for running, runners who are undertrained, and runners who have not run a full marathon before, should not run tomorrow.

They are saying for those that do run tomorrow that it should not be considered a race, and that runners should slow their pace significantly, take walk breaks, etc. etc. etc.

Of course I am still running. But it sounds like the chances of this being a big PR race are slim. Coach Rick is advising that I scale back my expectations and run by feel. We drove the entire race course this morning and he gave me a ton of great insight on how to run the course. I think it was very very helpful to see the course in advance and have the mental edge of knowing what to expect.

(I will write a full recap of my time and experiences here, but I just have to say that Rick has been completely amazing. I knew he was wonderful before we met in person, but he is even more wonderful than I had expected. It has been a blessing to get to know him and spend time with him.)

My number one goal tomorrow is now to finish safely. I am going to push myself, but do so smartly, and will listen to my body. I will not go out too fast or too hard. I will run the very best race I can under the given conditions. I don't really know what to expect, but as I always do, I will give it my all.

My number again if you want to track me is 11697. I very likely will not be running the time/pace I originally hoped, but we will see what race day brings.

I appreciate all the cheers, prayers, and COOL thoughts you can send my way.

More soon! I am off to rest up, and in the morning, I am running in the Boston Marathon!!!!!