Countdown

Friday I ran the final "hard" run for this marathon, the same as I have done for many past marathons:  six miles at my marathon goal pace.  I have adjusted that pace over the years, and this year I expect to run at a 9:15/mile or a 9:30/mile pace; but for training purposes I always try to run just a little fast, so my goal was a 9:00/mile pace.  I ran five miles for an average of exactly that pace, and then a one-mile cool-down.

That is encouraging, but of course the thought occurs to me, "Can I run another twenty miles at that pace?  The answer should be, "Yes, of course you can; you've trained perfectly, and you will be strong and rested at the end of your taper."  Any other answer would be the voice of doubt, which we do not permit to intrude on the mind at this point and certainly at no point during the race!  But the real answer will only come on marathon day itself, which is what makes this foolish adventure worth the many weeks of training.  As the Nike ad poses it:  "Do I have it in me?"  The only way to know is to go to the starting line.

This weekend we visited Katy and David, and they took us to a great little restaurant in Kannapolis called Forty Six.  Named for the number of chromosomes in the human body, it featured many quotations on the walls by Charles Kettering, including this one: 

“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” 

And so this will be my mantra as I count down the days to Marathon Day.