Marathon Week

6 days until marathon day.

26.2 miles awaits on Saturday. Three runs in the last few weeks have all be in the rain. I don't know why, but I have always been scared of the rain. I have avoided it at all costs. A few weeks ago, I had to no choice. It was run in the rain or miss my 20 mile run. While it was not ideal, it didn't rain hard enough to significantly affect my run.

My second one was last Wednesday. It was a beautiful day for a run with no signs of rain. It was overcast but nothing led me to believe it would be a problem. I reached the farthest point of the run before I had to turn back and I felt a sprinkle on my face. I remember think, "that was odd." A minute later I felt another one.

All of a sudden the sky opened up. It rained so hard it hurt. It is the kind of rain where driver's pull over because the windshield wipers are inadequate for its fury. I remember squinting and barely having one eye open so I would not accidentally run into someone's house. I got to a point where I had a mile left in my run but I was right by my house. A quick turn to the left and I would be done in seconds, a quick turn to the right and I would finish my run. I came to the literal crossroads and turned right.

What a liberating decision this was! Out of my squinty eye, I could see driver's looking at me thinking how amazing I was how stupid I was. My feet were splashing as I spent the next 9 minutes fighting through the monsoon that descended on middle Tennessee.

My third run was on Thanksgiving day when again it rained at the farthest point leaving me to finish a 6 mile run completely soaked.

Training for this marathon and the children of St. Jude gives a runner an incredible sense of purpose. One thought that constantly goes through my mind when it is raining is a sense that nothing should stop me from training when there are children fighting for their lives. I have made a promise to my sponsors and to these kids to run this marathon one more time.

Also, I have really started to enjoy the rain and that's a good thing.

Forecast for the Memphis Marathon this Saturday... rain.