Marathon No. 3 Almost Here... Already?!?

One week from today is the big day. Marathon No. 3, Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, Calif., will be awaiting that day. To say that I'm nervous a week out is, well, a bit of an understatement.

My nerves haven't been too bad. I've been dealing with this build-up well. But after today's 10-mile run, there's not much standing in the way now. A few midweek runs, lots of carbo-loading and water, and that's about it.

It's sort of like stepping up to a high diving board at a swimming pool. From a distance, it doesn't look too bad. When you start walking to it, you're excited about the jump but the closer you get, the more nervous you become because, after all, you're going to jump this really high distance. Then you get there, look down and... YIKES!!

I'm walking up to that diving board now. Suddenly, 26.2 miles seems like... well, 26.2 miles.

The part that worries me the most is once I hit Mile 20. I think I'll be okay at Mile 20 and even Mile 21, 22 but after that, every step I take is just going to add to my pain and discomfort and I'm going to want to curl up in the fetal position and die walk a lot, and while I am going to take walk breaks, I want to minimize those and not just stop because I'm in pain.

There's something I only feel when I reach the Land of High Mileage. My sides ache. It's like a slow burn on my sides and it makes the rest of me very uncomfortable. My feet also will be aching, I'm certain. The way I describe my marathon pain is that I feel like I've been hit by a truck, and next week an 18-wheeler's going to plow over me on Pacific Coast Highway.

I know come race day I'll be okay. My initial plan, well, part of it anyway, is to break the run up into three segments: Miles 1-10, Miles 11-20 and Miles 20-26.2. It's a lot easier to ingest when you think of it that way; 10 miles, 10 miles and a 10K.

It's funny because after all the build-up and all the nerves and anxiety and stress and jitters and what-the-hell-was-I-thinking feelings I'll have this week, once I get to the start line, I know I'll be fine. I'll be calm and excited and ready. But it's getting there that will be the challenging part.