The end is in sight. Ten miles.

Last Saturday I had my last double digit run before the race and I was lucky enough to do it on the Harlem Valley Rail Trail in the Berkshires.  It goes without saying that it was a gorgeous run.  It was so fun to see this route in the fall, since I've done it in the spring when a million flowers were out.  My knee felt good.  I was slow, not surprisingly, but it was very surprising to not have any knee pain, especially since it had hurt a bit during the week, and it typically only hurts while running.
On Tuesday I went back to the orthopaedic doctor.  He told me my knee didn't feel as sensitive as the last time I was in and after chatting with him about how my training's gone since the last time I saw him, he seemed pretty confident in me.  He didn't think I needed another cortisone shot, but said if I really wanted one he would give it to me.  I figured, if it's not going to hurt me, I'll take it.
I was emailing with my friend Aimee about running.  She's training for a half and we've been trying to coordinate our schedules so we could run together.  I told her I'm not running the rest of the week until the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff on Sunday, and then started thinking about next week and realized....I only have a couple more runs left and they should be very short!  This is when I felt butterflies for the first time.  Holy smokes, only three more runs until the big day???  So crazy.  I've got physical therapy twice next week, as usual, and want to try to fit in two more runs, so that means running Monday and Wednesday.  I decided Monday I'll jog up to the Reservoir, jog around it, and then walk home.  I want to take it easy since I will have just run in the race the day before.  It will be sentimental to run the Reservoir since that's where my running began.  Wednesday I'll do the simple two mile loop in the park and finish at the marathon finish line.  Then, the next time I run it'll be on Marathon Day.  I am so dang excited!!!
I was emailing with my friend Brenda earlier in the week.  She's going to sew my Dina heart patch on my tank top for the race this weekend.  She ran the Hamptons full in September, her first marathon.  All summer we've been keeping tabs on each other while training and it's really brought our friendship closer.  I asked her if I could put part of her email in my blog because it really touched me:

A marathon is like any opportunity in life, if we do it solely for the right to claim the achievement then it will likely wither quickly.  But if we allow the experience to change us, to cultivate the growth of our soul, then its impact won't diminish.  Prior to training for and completing my own marathon I was unable to comprehend the profound effect it would have on me.  Now I can simply express gratitude that I worked hard for something of which I had no understanding, for the faith to try and conquer, and the love that allowed me to change.

I can't believe how excited I am for this race!