I am ensconced in the marathon training doubt that occurs in the days leading up to the race. I feel slow - my legs are sore - my hamstrings are tight - my energy is low – there is no way I can keep this pace up for 26 miles. I’ve come to expect this creeping doubt and it really wouldn’t feel like a taper unless it was there. These thoughts are erroneous but yet I still can’t stop them from popping up. I can however, step back and look at them in the context of past marathons which enables me to at least keep them at a distance. I still have a very positive outlook on the race it is just amusing that these ideas always surface.

These thoughts were racing around my head yesterday on a loop through the Wissahickon. My hamstrings did still feel tight but are much better this morning. For no reason I decided to run marathon pace for a mile in the park. I came in a little slow at 6:50 but it felt easy. It doesn’t really mean much anyhow. 5+ miles in 41 minutes.