#393: Anticipating the Big One

What better terrain for your first 26.2?

Marathon. I spend a lot of the minutes before I sleep anticipating the preparations and the race itself. Two months from today, I'll be at Mum's house, laying out my clothes for the Pittsburgh Marathon. I wonder what it's going to feel like to line up with thousands of people in my hometown, or to cross that finish line at Heinz Field (sometime before dark, I hope.) I pray it isn't rainy, snowy, blazing, blowing, (any of which are possible in early May in Pennsyltucky.) I went to mapmyrun.com this morning and laid out a couple of 20+ mile training routes around Lexington. There's no way I can duplicate those hills around here, but at least I can stretch my long runs out past that 26.2 mile barrier. That's how Jeff Galloway says you beat "the wall": break through it before the race. He hasn't failed me yet, so I'm trusting him on this one, too.

My fundraiser, Living Strong at the Y is off to a slow start, but I haven't really done much promotion yet. I have a very ambitious goal, and want my first marathon to make a difference. LIVESTRONG at the YMCA is such a valuable program. Every day at the gym, I see cancer fighters' lives being transformed on treadmills, in the pool, and in the exercise studios. When you find yourself Zumba-ing next to a friend whose hair has just grown back after chemo, it's a pretty special feeling. It is amazing to look at photos of my grop from last summer, and then look at us now. We're like different people. And now that I'm a trainer with the program, it's especially rewarding, too.

Not flashy, but then neither is Pennsy

I went to John's Run/Walk Shop's end of winter clearance and picked up a pair of new shoes for the race. I'll start breaking them in this week. I get a little antsy trying out a new pair of socks, so new shoes could be down-right traumatic for me. They are Nike+ Pegasus 28s, the latest model of the shoes that have always been my favorites. I'm hoping they fit as well as their predecessors.

All you need is shoes and a T-shirt, honey!

Speaking of Nike+, my little Sportsband is really starting to work my nerves. It is becoming less and less reliable, failing to connect when I plug it in to upload a run, losing its calibration settings, just mildly stressing me for no good reason. I'm contemplating an upgrade to a Garmin GPS gizmo, but they are not cheap, and Mrs P always squints a little when I mention it. I nearly got on on Saturday from a guy advertising on CraigsList, but another bargain hunter beat me to the door. I took it as a sign from the universe. Besides, spending that much money on myself on Mrs P's birthday was just planting seeds for disaster.

So there's a lot to look forward to. And there are some real-life things that will need some attention. Taxes. Spring cleaning. That kind of stuff. It's going to be a busy spring.

Guess I'd better get to work.

Peace,
Pennsy