Twas the night before MCM...

This is it.  I am less than 12 hours away from lining up at the Marine Corps Marathon starting line and rocking this thing.  Tonight I was sitting at dinner reflecting on how I can't believe the day is here.  October 28th never actually felt like something that was realistic.  Now it's the night before marathon day and I couldn't be more nervous.  Something that I have trained 16 weeks for, a huge goal that I have been focused on since summer is here.  I felt calm and excited all day...until an hour ago when it was 8:00 and I realized that in exactly 12 hours I'll be starting in on this adventure.  I've got knots in my stomach, my heart is already beating out of my chest, but I'm trying to keep it all in perspective.  I'm glad I got a solid 10 hours of sleep last night because I don't anticipate much happening tonight.  I can't wait to see the 30,000 other runners who have trained for this and have been equally as focused on obtaining the same goal.  I can't wait to be completely inspired and to run next to thousands of Marines.  I can't wait to be on Cloud 9 from this entire experience and to cross the finish line right next to my Coach, my love...my husband.  At this point, the weather can't stop the amazing energy that will be present on the MCM course tomorrow morning.  There's nothing that a trash bag, shower cap and glide stick can't fix.

Yesterday we went to the expo and can you tell that this clearly wasn't Brad's first expo experience and I was just a tad more excited than him? :)

#1772 and #21211 :)

Best sign, hands down.

We carbo loaded at Cosi for lunch and "ate clean" (as my mother in law says) for dinner.  Suz is a wonderful cook and made us an amazing carb-filled meal of chicken picatta over egg noodles, asapargus, and butter sage ravioli (and homemade apple crisp + ice cream for dessert).

I got my outfit ready, my GU and shot blocks packed into my belt, my clothes to change into after I'm SOAKED...I am ready.  So tonight, while some of my friends are out partying for Halloween and there are a handful of other things I could be doing with my Saturday night and 5 hours of my Sunday morning tomorrow, I'm focusing on why I signed up for this race in the first place.  Nothing will compare to the feeling of crossing that finish line tomorrow.  I am ready to say that I personally challenged myself to finishing something as difficult as a marathon.

Of course, I want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who followed along with me, cheered me on, supported me through this whole training program, and who provided me with confidence through an injury and to finish this race.  From the text messages, to cards, to thoughtful gifts, to asking about my long runs, to simply just caring, every single little thing has made a difference.  You might not know this, but your support has gotten me through this and this certainly isn't something I could have done on my own.  I can't wait to see so many of you tomorrow!!  And for those of you who I don't personally know who have also followed my blog, you have inspired me through your own marathon experience and have given me hope that I can also do this!

Every marathon I've been to as a spectator, I've stood on the sidelines cheering on my husband thinking, "wow...I wonder what it would be like to run this?"  Over time from watching all of these races and from being so inspired by Brad, I finally decided to give it a try.  Tomorrow may be one of the hardest and most challenging goals that I ever accomplish.  But I've learned that relying on training, being focused, having faith, confidence, and support, I'll get through this and I will reach my goal.  I'll no longer have to wonder what it feels like to finish a marathon, because I will be a marathoner.

"I've learned that finishing a marathon isn't just an athletic achievement. It's a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible."

Let's do this.