Week 4 - Day 3 - 8 Miles

“I thought about how many preconceived prejudices would crumble when I trotted right along for 26 miles.” - Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb, first woman to run the Boston Marathon 1966

Appropriate running clothes are very important. Running 8 miles in the rain through downtown Portland has driven that concept home to me pretty well. I wore my velour sweat pants. I love velour sweat pants, I have them in many colors. However, there is something that happens to velour when it gets wet; it becomes very heavy. Even so, I managed to plod and splash my way through town, pulling up my sagging pants every few seconds.

I ran the first 8 miles of the marathon route. I plan to cover the entire route before the big day so there are no surprises. It was nice to discover that there is one hill in the first 3 miles. Other than that, the route was pretty easy and took me down the waterfront which is always a nice experience, even in the rain. As I ran I was picturing race day, the streets free of traffic and instead filled with hundreds of runners. I wonder how far behind I will be, or if there will be a group of slow-pokes. Even though my long runs are getting longer I am so far from 26.2 miles that I am still worried about my ability to really do this. This experience has taught me how important it is to stay in the moment, the only thing I have to think about is the current run. It is a huge lesson in trusting myself. I have worked on the concept of "be here now" for quite some time but only on an intellectual level. I now actually feel like I am experiencing it on an organic level.