the 2008 chicago marathon starts in less than 12 hours. i’m writing this in a last-ditch effort (9:30pm, i really ought to be in bed by now, the alarm is going to go off at 5) to record something about how i’m feeling now. tomorrow, after the marathon is over, i’ll want to remember who i was now, and who i will be after i complete (fingers crossed for no race-day disaster!) my second marathon.

training for this one has been very different from my first marathon. i’m still frightened of the distance, to be sure – it took me about a half dozen half marathons before that became a distance that i know, and understand, can comprehend. i’ll probably need as many marathons before i’ll feel comfortable in that way, maybe more. right now i’m filled with dread, and excitement, and dread, and…did i mention dread? the temperature is expected to soar up to 80 degrees tomorrow (october heat wave in chicago two years in a row? wtf!?), and i’m having ugly flashbacks from last year’s meltdown marathon. but i *do* feel confident in my training. i put the miles in this year. my comfortable training pace has come down by about 40 seconds. i am strong. i know this.

i also know that marathons = unpredictability. the key to marathoning, the life lesson here, is adaptability. it’s doing all the prep in the world (and trust me, all my clothes are laid out, bag packed, i’ve even laid out my breakfast already), and knowing that there are still a zillion factors i can’t control, and that i have to be prepared to take what the day gives me (weather, injury, transportation woes, illness, or perfect conditions) and figure out how to adapt and cope. it’s about adjusting expectations as much as adjusting your plan of action. feel good? run faster? feel bad? slow down.

okay, so two paragraphs ago i started writing about why the training process for this one was different. the big thing is that i teamed up with my friends marci and helen for this race. they are both new to marathoning, and have called me coach and put me in charge of the training program. (my main coaching qualifications being that i’ve run one (disastrous) marathon, a few half marathons and other long races, and that i read a lot of running magazines). really, it’s been about 70% cheerleading, 20% actual running coaching, and 10% focus on my own training. helping M and H face each new challenge has actually helped ease me through some of the hardest days. and what i’ve got out of this experience is that coaching is something that i really love and seems to really fit me. i think next year i want to look into doing more coaching, either volunteering as a mentor for a community program, or taking some classes and really training to be a coach.

in the mean time, my heart is warmed by all the friends who called/texted/emailed/snail mailed me in the past two days to wish me luck. it’s like having an extra birthday, warm fuzzies arriving unexpectedly.

however, all this touchy-feely-learning-about-myself crap doesn’t change the fact that I still have to run 26.2 miles tomorrow tho. we’ll see how i feel when i get to the end. for now, it’s time for bed.

gambatte!