worried about tomorrow

Did some pedaling around Brooklyn yesterday, mostly the lower portion of the Slope and two laps of the Park. To my credit, I did not stop during those two laps, except at the top of the park to get some Gatorade from a vendor. How stupid was it to leave the house with no fluid on an 88 degree day?? Anyway, that was the first time I'd pedaled up the major hill without stopping. And I did it both times.

Part of that is a certain mental toughness I'm getting from the running, particularly the long runs. Bob Glover describes it in his book as the warrior attitude. It is that attitude that makes us push through non-crippling pain and keeps us from eating/drinking/doing the things we shouldn't between runs. Its definitely seeping into my bones.

But I'm still worried about May 1st. Tomorrow I'm going to do three to five loops of the Park on the bicycle, instead of running, just like yesterday. This is in an effort to spare my feet and ankles for Sunday's "long" run (8 miles), which I cannot skip. Then I think I can safely go back to bicycling/rollerblading until the marathon. But will my feet heel up in time? Everything that has become sore over the last six months is still sore, though mostly to a minor, disallowable extent. But one or two of them really have me worried about not being able to finish the marathon. And then I'll go see a doctor and he'll look at me like I'm stupid and say, why didn't you come see me when this first started? I could have helped you and you would have been able to finish the marathon.

So that's my fear right now; and its strong. But the training is, for the most part, done; and I have to believe that stretching, some ibuprofen, and twice-daily icing will do the trick for these pains and by marathon day, I'll be ready to kick some ass.