Marathon Prep - One Day Before Race

This is how I feel just about now:

 
In 12 hours and 30  minutes I will be running the Vancouver Marathon. Yes. It's a done deal. I've got my bib ready. My clothes are laid out and ready to put on. My water and outfit are all on fleek! Yes, on fleek!

This is quite something for me. It's something I'm going to be proud of as it's a whole of 42.2km and I've been prepping for it since December of 2014.

Tonight I feel anxious, excited, nervous, and proud. The best way to get over this mix of powerful emotions is by seeking to get into a zen place so that I'll eventually get to rest and get some sleep. So I will soon go into the bedroom and try to get into a mode of quietude as I get ready to face the anguish of completing an amazing 42.2km run! 

And this is how the journey started. Last spring I moved back to BC after spending a year in Toronto and one of the first things I did upon moving back was competing in a triathlon. I loved it. It was thanks to that experience that I vouched to do the following:

1. Get into paddleboarding - I'd never done it before and now I'm about to compete in a race!
2. Get into wind surfing - I'd never done it and now it's my all-favorite pursuit!
3. Prep for a marathon - I'd never done it and tomorrow I'm actually doing it!!

I have some great people in my life who serve as big inspirations to me. My pal Camille has done marathons in every continent. She was definitely a point of inspiration! And one of the people that has the biggest impact on me, is a big proponent of workout pursuits and I pay close attention to what he says on anything that's outdoorsy. And while he's mostly interested in mountaineering and climbing, what he opines on the matter of running and exercise has weight.

But, in the end, it's what you do that matters. We all have access to great inspiration and great feedback from others. In the end, and especially if you're running a marathon, all that matters is:

- How much have you been running to get ready for this?
- How are you trending? 
- What's your mile per minute or km per minute?
- What's your ideal time to finish 42.2km in?

And my history of training and running can be found here! By the way, I LOVE Map my Run! LOVE IT!

 And while my stats say that I'm trending to finish the first marathon of my life in 4 hours and 35 minutes, I intend to go for 3 hours and 40 minutes. Is it an aggressive goal? Yes! Would I be true to myself if I didn't aim for something like this? NO! 

And you won't be able to answer any of the above-listed questions unless you've done the work, spilled the sweat, and made it a point to make training important.

And I did.

Training for the marathon was something I deeply respected since vouching to do it back in December of 2014. And now, a few hours away from the race, I'm confident in saying one thing:
that I will do and finish the race. I'm ready!

I've worked hard for this. Very hard!

I've done what I've done in every other pursuit in life. I've tracked my activity carefully daily. I know how I trend and how I can trend better. And I've prepared for it. Unapologetically and unequivocally.
All that's left now is a good night's sleep as tomorrow morning I start the journey of accomplishing one of the things on my bucket list.

So, here we go. It's almost go-time. Look forward to reporting after the fact....
 

True Friends Support Your Dreams and Push You to Be Better

One of my oldest friends and I just vacationed together. What good fun it was! I got to share my love of the Pacific Northwest with him and, boy, was that fun! Fundamentally, the test of a true friendship is how quickly you can pick up after you last left off. He and I met when in grad school and we spent oodles of time together along with other mutual friends of ours. To other people, our group appeared quite appealing and sort of hard to enter. Often they'd say, "we like to hang with you guys but whenever we try to, it's like you guys have your own language." And they were right. We did have our own language but it sort of grew organically and almost unbeknownst to us.

It even got to a point where my closest pals learned Italian so that we would have a language in common to communicate.  If learning a new language doesn't spell friendship, I don't know what does! They learned quickly and really quite naturally. I suppose another important ingredient to a functional and time-resisting friendship is commitment. And, yup, we got that too!

The thing is, true intimacy, much like a viral video, cannot be planned. It just happens. As I think back on our relationship and connection over time all I can pin it down to is every single one of us having a motor and the respective ability to focus on what each of us were pursuing. And when we'd be done doing that at the end of the day, we'd get together and truly enjoy each other. That's what made our connection so appealing. We've all achieved things in our own right. And we all know what it takes to truly work hard and with purpose. We appreciate and acknowledge each others' hustle. And we know how to push one another. And that's what I look for in a true friend. Can you push me to get better? Can I? If the answer is yes then we're destined to be in each others' lives.

Since I'm training for the marathon - which by the way is tomorrow morning!! - I have a pretty strict training schedule that needs to be on-point without exception. What I really love about my pal is that he just eases into it. And he's uber competitive and wants to not only keep up but beat me. And I cannot express how much I love that!

The very thing we did the very next morning was to hit the road and run for 10km, then pick up a double-seater fiberglass kayak, tie it to my car - one of the best purchases I have ever made! - and explore the Pacific Northwest, rain and all. We saw seals and kayaked in the middle of a rain storm. Such fun!

What we had in common was our respective motors. We all pursued different disciplines. My pal's a neuroscientist, the other pal's a mathematician and I'm the literary scholar. Time would fly as we'd spent it together because we shared a wavelength. Moreover, we discussed various topics nightly, after we were done with our respective studies which we'd often do together and in the same spot. In short, we were joined at the hip.

And with friends like that, it doesn't matter how often you get to spend time together. You will pick up exactly right where you left off.

Case in point. "Hey. How was your flight?"
He: "Great. This is such a great city!"
I: "Dude, really! It'll be so much fun."

And that's it. That's all it took to fastforward to the present moment nd we end up exploring some uninhabited islands in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, rain and all, as we strengthen our bodies with a few bites of Cliff Bars.

And, to me, that's what true friendship is. Connecting with people who share your drive and motor and with whom you can pick up right you left off. Friendship is about supporting each others' pursuits and reams. And I'm so ready for the 42.2km run tomorrow.

Thanks, pal and see you next time so that you could be doing this too.