The Night Before in Philly

It’s the night before the marathon, and I’m calm for the first time. I was a nervous wreck the night before the Marathon of the Palm Beaches, and I was just plain scared before Quebec. Tonight, I’m calm. I know I will finish, but the time is questionable.

Walking around the expo and registration, I heard a lot of nervous chatter and worries about proper gear and attire. The placement of your tag poses an interesting question given that there will be layers of clothing that may or may not be stripped during the course of 26.2 miles. A group of girls around my age were waiting in line behind me for our race tags, and I overheard their conversation regarding this matter, and what sort of clothing would optimize their comfort through the race. They eventually submitted that no matter what they wore, they were going to feel a lot of pain regardless.

I laughed a little to myself. For whatever reason, the pain doesn’t scare me, and I don’t really care to avoid it. I can certainly do without it, but it doesn’t bother me too much. I’m actually a bit curious as to how I will handle myself this time around. I’ve always approached the marathon with the thought in being slow and steady, and to run nowhere near my normal pace until the 20th mile. Well, each previous marathon, I got way too excited after the 5th mile. I'm thinking this time around, I will be smarter and just let the excitement pass.

Well, wish me luck and send a prayer. Take off is scheduled in 8.5 hours.