5-4-3-2-1-GO

Today began as any other day, only one big difference. Today was only five days away from my very first marathon. This Saturday I will run the SunTrust National Marathon in Washington DC along with my wife and several thousand other athletes. Am I ready? I think so. Am I nervous? You bet I am. Am I so excited that I can't concentrate on my work? Yeah, but don't let my boss know that.

Training began back in early December, just after returning from vacation in Costa Rica. My main focus was and will continue to be triathlons, but why not throw in a marathon just for fun. The first plan was to do the Moab Marathon in Moab, UT. We love that area and at less than a days drive it would have been an ideal race. Signs didn't seem to point us in that direction. First there was difficulty with race getting permission to use it's planned course. Then the website was not the easiest to navigate. By time we realized that this maybe wasn't the race for us, our minds were kind of set on that date. We did some more searching around and found a few other race around that same time.

I had the opportunity to go back and work in Washington DC last fall and felt for sure that it was some place I would visit again. I just didn't think it would be so soon. We couldn't pass up the fact that it was the exact same day and it would make for a great spring trip. The convenience we had planned for would not be there, but I hear DC in the Spring is beautiful. So hear I am just a few short days for the longest run of my life.

The miles haven't been easy, most of my running in December and January was done in the cold and the dark. I would run after finishing coaching and swimming high school swim practices. I won't complain though, I loved it. I live for the night, and the colder the better. I've done the long runs (22 miles) and the short ones have gotten a lot easier. Life has gotten in the way at times, but I always get back out there as soon as I can. Have I done enough? Ask me that on Saturday afternoon. One thing I know for sure is that I will be there and I will give it everything I've got!