Marathon weekend is here! YIKES!!!

It seems like it was only a few weeks ago that my training kicked off on a business trip to London. That trip was in July and now 18 weeks later it seems only fitting that the last of my training was completed on another business trip, this time ion Pittsburgh.

Overall I feel that my training has gone well. I got every single long run completed and only missed a few of my mid-week training runs. So i can safely say that I have all the mile sin my legs that I need to have. But this doesn’t stop the doubts from creeping in. 26.2 miles is hard. I know that from my last three. I also know that I got this, but still, the race weekend jitters can get to me sometimes.

I came straight to Philly from my conference in Pittsburgh and got settled into my hotel here. Since this is my first destination marathon I over packed. Yes, there is a good chance that I always over pack but I really did for this marathon. I’m prepared for unseasonably warm weather and a blizzard.

My hotel is right in the action of race weekend festivities so I headed right over to the race expo. I might as well wear a hat that says sucker when I go to race expos. I WANT ALL THE THINGS!!!

But first things first. I got my bib and race shirt and then picked up all my addition race goodies which included a nice marathon fleece blanket and a fleece pull-over for completing the Board Street 10 Mile race and the marathon. Of course I bought stuff in the race shop.

Then I headed over to the really important booth — the AACR booth. I picked up my team shirt, hat, and most important my “survivor” bib. I admit that I got very emotional when I picked these up. This journey has been a long one with ups and downs and to be one the upside and running for this cause has been amazing.

After that I headed over to a meet and greet with Desi Linden, one of my favorite marathoners. I first had the opportunity to meet her in San Diego in 2015 when she walked in to the restaurant I was in after the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon. She was so kind when we asked to take a picture with her.

I was so excited to get this one with my AACR shirt on!

I got my most important night’s sleep before the marathon and am going to pick up my race support crew, my best friend and my little doggie nephew. I can’t wait to see them after being away from home for the past week.

The race tracker will be posting my progress tomorrow on my twitter feed so please head on over there to follow my progress. There is also still time to make a donation.

Thank you for following along on this marathon journey with me. As the shirt i bought yesterday says, “This run matters.”