One Day Away

It's 6:45 am the day before the Fargo Marathon and I can't sleep anymore. I took the day off of work today to travel up to Fargo so I had planned to sleep in this morning, go for a short run and then hit the road. So far, I'm 0 for 1 on that plan. I've basically been wide awake for over an hour with nothing but the race running through my mind. For me, getting nerves like this is a good thing but getting the sleep is also a good thing. I might have to take a little nap on the drive up to Fargo today.

The weather report is becoming more and more likely to be correct by this point in the week and we're looking at low 40s and partly cloudy during the race, absolutely perfect for me. And those strong Fargo winds, they're gonna be pretty calm tomorrow as well. This is shaping up for a big P.R. kind of day for me! I always look forward to the whole experience of running a marathon and being a part of the entire event. Aside from race day easily being my favorite day of any training season, the race expo the day before has to be a not too distant second. I haven't been to Fargo's expo before so we'll see how it compares with the others I've been to. Just being around all those other runners and all of these companies, races, and stores in one place, being there for all of us runners is just so cool to me! Being at one of these expos is like putting my 10 year old self in a toy store with the candy store attached next door, I'm in heaven!

The goal for race day remains 2:45 or under, a 14 minute P.R. if all goes according to plan. Regardless of what happens tomorrow morning in Fargo, North Dakota though, the ultimate reason why I'm doing what I'm doing will never change: I'm praising God and thanking Him for blessing me with the gift of being able to run the way I do and for giving me the joy and passion to want to do it. It's all about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I wouldn't be where I am today without Him.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with perseverance the race God has set before us."
- Hebrews 12:1