Time for Testing

Today is 36 days until the Philadelphia Marathon. My inevitable question to myself is: Am I ready? I don't know the answer. Qualitatively, I feel like I'm nearly ready. My endurance is off the charts for me. Last week's 22-miler didn't kill me. My tempo runs are coming along. I don't feel terribly injured. Still, I don't know for sure where I am. Only a race will really tell me that. So tomorrow morning I'm picking up a car to drive two hours to Seaside Heights, NJ, where I'll run a half marathon. My goal: 1:25, which would put me exactly where I need to be for a sub-3 marathon. This would be a PR for me of more than two minutes. I've run dozens of races, yet I still get nervous for them. Part of it is a common motivation: fear. For me, the fear is always I'll take the easy way out, ease up when it's tough. It's somewhat irrational. If anything, I probably tend to overdo it -- see my two trips to the hospital. Still, it's always there. A little fear of failure is probably a good thing overall.

5.75 miles, 41:51