Sunday I ran a 14-mile cutback week run long run. I was supposed to run it on Saturday, but having been dealing with a cold that just won’t settle in my body or go away and dealing with crappy work hours, I have been exhausted. So exhausted that I ended up sleeping for a really long time on Saturday. Clearly I needed the rest and the me of now gladly took that extra rest. Months ago, I would have tried to push through it, but now I really “get” the importance of rest to make myself perform well.

Anyway, I think my 14 mile run was probably the best one yet of my marathon training season. Probably because the temps were really cool (yay!) and I felt rested after taking a rest day on Saturday. During my run, I did get rained on quite a bit. About half an hour into my run, it started to sprinkle. Then when I had reached the halfway point, it really started to rain. Fortunately, there was no lightning so I could continue on in my run. As for the rain, it actually felt wonderful to run in it. It had me getting anxious about a winter run through the snow. That is something I have wanted to do for a long time and I’m hoping this winter I have that chance. During the run, I started to realize, that the marathon is just weeks away. I’ve known it was weeks away and been reminded of it as some friends have asked me how many days I have left until I am running through the City of Chicago. (24 days as of 9/18/13.) So far, no panic has set in, but instead a sense that I can do this. Many times over the summer I have had doubts that I can do it. I mean, let’s face it, 26.2 miles is a LONG way to run. But after running 20 miles last week and feeling fantastic the day after as well as another week of 40 miles, maybe I can do this with ease.

I suppose I will know for sure after a half marathon that I have coming up this weekend. I should be doing another 20 mile run, but instead I decided I wanted to race a half marathon to really test myself speed-wise and to do one more race before the marathon.

One thing that I am not concerned about however is what I will wear. I got new shoes last week and it’s a good thing that I won’t care what is on my feet after 20 miles or so because the new shoes are very pink. This is rather amusing considering the loathing I have of pink. I have those same shoes in black / yellow, but sadly when I went to get them replaced, the pink was the only color available. Good news is that I will probably only wear them a couple of months (three max) before I can get a new pair that is hopefully not pink. Fortunately, my shirt will be a super awesome Swirlgear one (unless it is chilly in which case I will be getting a long-sleeved Swirlgear top) and the pants I’m planning to wear will have a nice sized pocket to hold my gels in so that I don’t have to carry a fuel belt or even potentially use gear check.

It is actually nice to not have a lot of things to think about come race day other than getting there healthy and having the best time ever running the streets. So far nerves haven’t set in, but you never know. Maybe as the day draws closer some will set in. If they do, I hope it will be to my benefit and allow for a great race and not cause some of the mistakes I have made in the past when it comes to racing. I still have a lot of money to raise before the marathon for Team One Step Camp and hopefully I can reach my goal well before race day so that I am not stressing about that while trying to do my final prep for race day. Because if anything will stress me out, it is knowing I didn’t reach my goal to send one child to summer camp.