Let's see how far we've come

I think if I have have the chance to race in the rain - real rain, not some drizzle - I'll set some kind of PR I can't even imagine.

That's a direct quote from my entry on this blog on June 19. Granted, I think I was talking more along the lines of a 5K race, but you know what? This is how I have to think of this: I'm finally getting my chance to race in the rain. The fact that it's COLD rain...well...whatever. This is running: we are badass, weather is unimportant to us. I have trained for this, and I'm ready, and no nor'easter is going to stop me!

706.1 miles.
That's how many miles I've run to train for this marathon. I mean, after over 700 miles, what's 26.2 more? I am ready.

It's funny, because when I really think about it, this marathon is more to me than just my first marathon. It's really a representation of how far I've come over the past 5 years as a distance runner. Running has shown me a lot of what I'm made of, and I know I have the strength to dig deep and find that once extra ounce of something when all I really want to do is stop. I'll need that strength tomorrow, but I'll know it's there, because I've been building it up slowly over these years of running. When I ran with the varsity in practice even though I would never race with them. When I struggled through XC workouts alone because I had class during practice. When I found one last gear to kick it in at the end of a cross country race. When I achieved something even I never imagined I could actually do. When I randomly entered a half marathon and finished in a respectable time, and 2 years later when I smashed my PR by 6 minutes. The runs through the Arb, long runs in the rain, the workouts when you're clinging to nothing more than a fragment of a song in your head and the back of the teammate in front of you, the disappointing races, and the great ones. These things are all a piece of the puzzle, something that I hope will come together into something amazing tomorrow. When I am struggling through the rain and the wind, and I think I have nothing left, all I need to do is look back at these moments when my will prevailed, and know, just know, that I can do it.

So here I am, with millions of strides behind me. Now all that's left to do is run. And ROCK. IT. OUT.

See you at the finish line!

PS - Shoutout to my WTC buddy Claire who is probably around mile 14 of her first marathon as we speak...she's clearly going to rock it! :) Moo moo moo moo :)
And also good luck to Running365 [one of the 3 or 4 AWESOME people who read this blog! :)] who is also doing her first marathon tomorrow! Go girl!