20 Days until the Marathon

I’m starting to get excited and anxious, only 2 long runs left of 16 and then 12 miles! I ran 17 yesterday, and I can say it was not enjoyable with the cold and the wind.
A couple of weeks ago I was wondering if I would ever be ready. I feel like I am now, as I begin my taper down phase so my legs won’t be too beat up by the time the marathon rolls around. I still feel good, despite some small aches and pains that at this point I’ll have to deal with until the marathon is over.
As Greg and I were running yesterday through some of those aches and pains, he reminded me that the training is the most difficult part of the marathon. He said if you can get through it, the actual marathon won’t seem that bad. The race is only one day and one long run, while the training is 4 months and a lot of people can’t get through it to actually make it to race day. He reminded me of the freezing cold mornings, the hills at Chestnut Ridge in the snow, the injuries that you battle through, the overall fatigue that you eventually get over, the tough runs that you get more out of because you didn’t give up when you really wanted to, and the mornings where it would be a lot easier to sleep in instead. Whether or not he was just saying it to encourage me that I am almost there, it worked!