It's All Over But The Shouting.

Oh, and the running of 26.2 miles on Sunday. :)

I did my final training run this morning -- an easy two-miler along the Potomac and back through my neighborhood. It was a drizzly morning with whipping wind, but it was a good morning, a morning full of closure (Papa John would be so proud).

What a long, strange trip this has been. From the beginning of my marathon training in June to today, I've grown fitter, I've pushed myself to the limits, and I've come through relatively unscathed. ;) I've run through the 95-degree heat of summer, where I sweated so much for so long that my body was caked in salt afterward, salt that has permanently stained my favorite FSU hat, leaving a trail of white around the brim. I've run when I didn't feel like it -- when sleeping seemed like much more fun, when my legs were still sore from the LAST run, when I'd rather sit around and watch The Golden Girls on Lifetime. I've run for four hours; I've run for 45 minutes. I've gone through one pair of shoes in the process and, after this marathon, will have gone through one more pair.

And do you know what? I've had such a good time.

Today I'm sitting here both giddy and nervous for what's ahead of me this Sunday. Giddy because I get to put all my training into practice. Nervous because I don't have a clue how I'll do.

This week, I've been telling my friends that I feel like I'm getting ready to take the SAT. I've done all the studying. I've spent hours on prep work. Now it's time to take the test, and in the final analysis I have no idea which questions will be on the exam. But I do know that I've done the best I can do in the preparation phase. And that should count for something!

So, this ends the training for the Marine Corps Marathon. Tonight I go to pick up my race packet. Then I come home and lie down.

Then, on Sunday, we race.

:)