This marathon training thing has been quite an education, and I’ve still got a month to go. Here are some things I have learned along the way, things I guess I didn’t know but probably should have:

• I am sick of running. I have been training since the beginning of May, running 4 days a week. I am so sick of running. I want to do other things. I don’t want to be so beholden to this training schedule anymore.
• I have learned not to care what anyone thinks. Like, decorum is out the window. I don’t care what anyone thinks if they see me blow my nose on my shirt, see my gut or sports bra when I use the hem of my shirt to wipe sweat from my face, grab the crotch of my shorts to pull it down when it rides up as I’m running, or reach behind me to scratch my ass. I am just too damn tired to care what anyone thinks of those behaviors when I am 6 miles or 11 miles into a run.
• I hurt all the time. My toes, my arches, my ankles, my calves, my knees, my quads, my back, my shoulders. They all always hurt in one degree or another.
• I am hungry and tired all the time. When I’m not running, all I seem to want to do is eat and sleep.
• I am lonely. Training for this by myself is hard mentally and emotionally. I can pretty well get through 10 miles on my own, but once I get past that, I start to feel myself breaking down physically (see the bullet above about pain), and I really start to break down mentally. I feel really alone and isolated, and it is hard to keep moving. I’ve been told that the crowd support on the course during race day is very energizing, so I am counting on that. I am really going to need it.
• Related to being lonely, I am amazed at how much I deeply appreciate the kindness of strangers. When I see fellow runners and they give me little pieces of encouragement, it really gives me a boost. For instance, this morning, one guy just gave me a thumbs up as we passed each other, and a couple of ladies out running said, “You’re gonna do great!” as they ran past me. Those two little gestures really gave me a pleasant little burst. All the little bits of encouragement I get, especially when I am out there on the road, really help.
• I have not lost a single pound while training. I haven’t really gained, either. I just keep seeming to lose and gain back the same 2 or 3 pounds. I guess I should reference the bullet above about being hungry all the time.
• My mind does weird things. Like I tripped the other day at work, and I thought to myself, “Oh, no! I almost fell! I can’t get hurt now! Wait, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I did get hurt….”

33 days left. I’m just going to keep plugging along.