thoughts before my MARATHON

This post was intended for the gram but I chickened out and thought it would bring bad juju if I posted it before the marathon. So here she is:

My left Achille’s tendon started feeling sorta funny about 2 weeks ago, and instead of stopping then, I gave it a day off and then continued running like normal, with some fast paces and the rest of my long training runs. And then came marathon week. My Monday run ended with some pain that I considered stronger than just a niggle, and after noticing how inflamed the tendon had become, I decided the best thing I could do was take the rest of the week off. Bummmmmmer.

I don’t like not running. Never. Ever. Especially gearing up for a marathon? Talk about paranoia, nerves, restlessness. Overall not happy!! Wrecked my daily routines and put me in some distinctly upset moods (ask my friends and family lol)

However, it’s now Friday, and I’m running 26.2 miles tomorrow (hopefully) and my Achille’s tendon is actually feeling dramatically better. I think? I’ve been walking a little each day to keep my legs moving, icing, soaking in epsom salt, and slammin the painkillers (okay not really, just enough to keep inflammation down, which was one of my major symptoms).

Tonight, I fuel up. And prep all the race day things, including my Gu energy gels and Tailwind recovery. I don’t know how tomorrow is going to go, honestly. I’m freakishly afraid that Achille’s may snap or just not feel good or bring me down with the inability to even finish the distance. And while these fears are very real, I keep reminding myself that I have set out to run a M A R A T H O N. Something that really not a lot of people do. Something that quite a few people end up not finishing, sometimes after they’ve run several successful marathons. Last year when I ran the Houston Half and decided to accomplish the full marathon dealio in 2021, I had no idea a pandemic was coming and that it would uproot so so so many things, among dealing with so many health problems that had me wondering if I’d ever be able to allow myself to sign up for the big 26.2…

I’m ready for whatever tomorrow is going to bring. It’s gonna be very cold, naturally because Texas weather can’t hang. And my hands might actually freeze. But when I signed up for this race, fully knowing it was already virtual, my end goal was to complete the distance with my dad, who is now a legacy member of the Houston marathon. Maybe I’ll be a legacy member one day? For now, my sights are set on accomplishing this distance and joining the marathon community, even if I have to crawl across a chalk-written finish line. Good luck to all the other Houston marathon runners out there, and to my fellow frunners going the/any distance tomorrow. WE GOT THIS YAY