Weekend Routes for 10/07

Okay, your routes for tomorrow are attached. Don has some recommendations for running in the rain that I posted to the blog. Your directions will most likely get wet tomorrow if you do not protect them with tape or a zip lock. Be prepared.

18 miles
20 miles

Now here is my feeble attempt at an "email pep talk." Try to envision me excited with a smile on my face typing as fast as my fingers will go. . .

I know you are tired. I know you are sore. I know that there are times when you have thought about giving up. Don't let that happen!

Each and everyone of you have worked far too hard to not see this through until the end. One of you has said to me "I am crossing that finish line even if I have to do it on my hands and knees." Hearing that gives me chills because I know how bad you want this. You are about to join a very small and elite group of people who can say they finished a marathon. Seriously, say that out loud. . . "I finished a marathon." How cool does that sound!?

Has this been hard? Absolutely. But if this was easy, there would not be anything special about doing a marathon. That is why so few can say those words, "I finished a marathon".

I have always thought doing a marathon is less about your natural physical abilities and more about your mental and emotional commitment. I hear people every week that tell me "I could do a marathon if I wanted to". That one arrogant sentence is what separates our team from everyone else. . . you do want to, and you did commit yourself to this, and you will do a marathon.

You have been training now for 20 weeks. That is amazing! Look how far you have come. You have logged over 60 hours of training. Some of us probably did not exercise for 60 hours in the previous two years, and now your are fitter and stronger than you have ever been. Others are running faster and father than they ever have before. You may feel beat down now, but this is because you have worked so hard and your body is tired, but in just two weeks we begin our taper.

Your tired legs will recover. The soreness will go away. And the afternoon of November 11th with a medal hanging around your neck, and most likely tears in your eyes you will say "I finished a marathon!"

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go - TS Eliot

SEE YOU TOMORROW MORNING!!!!