On the Far Horizon

The start line seems so far off. You know that anticipation don't you? Weeks and months of discipline, patience, hard work, and focus have brought you here. There's a lightness in your stomach. Your mouth's a little dry. The butterflies threaten to overwhelm you. The energy is just so good. And then, GO! All that pent-up energy carries you on.

I love that feeling. The only thing better is the happy exhaustion of the finish line.

Powerful images. And the ones foremost in my mind as I contemplate this round of training. We're a little more than four months away from the race start (and hopefully finish!), which seems like a long time from here. And yet, I know that the days/weeks/months will fly by.

I downloaded the current documentation from the FIRST to the Finish Training Program (thank you folks at Furman!) this morning. I've used a modified version (read: have gotten lazy and not completed all my scheduled runs...) of this training for the past 3 marathons I've run. And this year I've got less Fall base than I had last year. But last year I had trouble completing my long runs without IT band problems. This year I'm going to ease into the distance a little more and apply myself more faithfully to stretching and otherwise avoiding injury.

So I'll fasten on my Nano -- for training purposes only! -- fire up the Garmin, hit the streets here around Westside, and always, always keep the end-game in sight. With the promise of the start line before me, the miles will pass comfortably by. And when the gun sounds and we launch onto the course, I'll almost be able to imagine all those cheers being just for me. The reward for a patient, disciplined, focused, and careful training cycle. Baby steps.... See you along the way.