Two days after the marathon, it’s still occupying a lot of my thought space.

In the days leading up to the marathon I found myself questioning my ability to complete it. I had encountered some specific physical challenges in my longer training runs. And as more people starting talking about me running, the more pressure I was feeling about HAVING to succeed. That was an interesting part of the experience, too. I had to address a fear that I might let someone down.

Then something remarkable happen. The morning of the marathon I found myself fully relaxed. I mean I was stoked to run but my nervousness about it had vanished. Standing in the cold, moments before starting, I entered a profound sense of comfort. I had the awareness and satisfaction that months of preparation had led me to this moment. When I ran the half marathon last year, I was crazy-jazzed, adrenaline-filled at the start. This year, I was calm and collected.

And then I just got in a groove and ran.