almost done, hun.

This Sunday will mark my longest run in my training for the Portland Marathon. 20 miles. Let me remind you that my runs do not necessarily mean I run the entire time...I'm simply running as much as I can and then doing my best to imitate a speed-walker otherwise...hip swing and all!

Initially, I wanted to complete the marathon course within 6 hours' time but now that I've done a few long run/walks, I'm thinking that unless I have a burst of intense energy and stamina, that goal is not going to work for me. I'm thinking, after some calculation and personal speculation, that while I may get close to my 6 hour goal, I think 6 1/2  hours might be more realistic. I can run a sub 11 mile on a continuous basis, but once I get tired of running, my speed walk brings me to a sub 14 mile pace...and once I'm tired of speed walking, I'm reduced to a normal walk of around 15 min. miles. If I walked the entire course at 15 min/mile pace, I'll finish before the 7 hour mark...which is good to think about. At least I can tell Bobby that I should be no later than 2pm before we can head home! (poor guy...I feel bad for him...waiting around for his slow wife to finish a race that will cause her to complain probably the whole way home...)

I'm glad I know this now...I'd feel really silly if I went into this race thinking I'd finish like a speed demon. But then again, who knows? Adrenaline from other runners and matching their paces may bring me to a faster finish...I've heard that it happens.

I had a chance to chat with Kathi, the lovely lady who has helped me along with my training plan and little tidbits of support via emails and atta girls at the office. I let her know I was coming up on my long run and she mentioned that she would have loved to run part of that with me if she were only in town. This thought felt weird to me, having someone run with me, because I think throughout this time of training I might have only been able to share maybe 6 miles with someone. Starting this spring, I've covered nearly 700 miles...alone. This may sound kinda sad, but there's been a great many miles of clarity and reflection, prayer time and some 'aha!' moments so I'm not bummed. It sure made things difficult when I wanted to go hang out with friends or sleep in because I didn't have an accountability buddy. Sometimes friends and/or sleep won out but I'm happy to say it didn't happen too often.

All this to say, I'm anxious, excited, scared...and I cannot wait to have that Portland Marathon shirt and medal....oh, and the tree sapling, of course!