One Day

I had grand plans of blogging my way through marathon training. Didn't really work out the way I planned since this thing called the Epic RV Trip of All Time happened and I was way more excited to write about that!

But here I am, less than 24 hours away from running my first marathon ever. I could have done so many other things this weekend. I'm missing a huge homecoming celebration at JMU, complete with ESPN Gameday coverage and a rare reunion of my college sorority. I'm missing a weekend at the Omni Homestead resort with my husband, an event that we've attended every year for the past several years but had to skip this year due to my marathon commitment. I'm missing a leadership training event with my sister today which based on her Facebook posts looks pretty amazing.

But do I regret missing these things? Not a chance. There will be other Homecomings, getaway weekends, leadership seminars. But what I'm doing tomorrow - running the Marine Corps Marathon as a charity runner for the ALS Association in memory of my dad - this will likely only happen once. Sure, I might run other marathons - I've already entertained those thoughts after realizing that training for a marathon isn't as bad as I thought it would be. But this particular moment will only happen once.

The number four keeps popping up. Four years since my dad passed away, the 40th running of the Marine Corps Marathon, John's 44th birthday this past week. I'm not sure what that means. I'm a big believer in numbers and the number four must mean something. I grew up in a family of four. John grew up in a family of four. We now have a family of four. Big events tend to happen every four years, like presidential elections and the Olympics. It's a nice even number. It make me feel good.

I feel good today. The past week has been an emotional one. As I embarked on my final run the other day I told myself I would set my mind free and let my thoughts guide me. Within a minute of starting my run my dad's favorite song came on the iPod - "God is Great, Beer is Good and People are Crazy". A few tears were shed but the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and I was sure my dad was looking down on me. I think he would have thought I was a little crazy to run a marathon to be quite honest. I don't know that he would really have understood my drive to do this. But he would have been proud. That I know.

So I'm going to spend the rest of the day hydrating, stretching, relaxing and preparing for one of the biggest things I've ever done. I can't even imagine what it will feel like to be in the presence of all those people, running a race that symbolizes what our country is all about, passing through the Blue Mile and seeing the faces of the fallen, running for my dad and for anyone who is unable to put one foot in front of the other for whatever reason.

I can't wait.