"If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run..."

To do: find a shirt that says this

In less than 48 hours I will run a marathon. After the stress and awfulness of this week, I feel totally unprepared for this race, mentally and physically. But I think a marathon is just what I need right now. Twenty six point two miles to work everything out and let it all go.

I don't even care about this race anymore. I am not running for time or any sort of goal. I am running just to run, because I need the motion and the feeling and the effort and the exhaustion. Because running makes me better and stronger. Because it makes me feel more like myself.

Sometimes there is no way to avoid heartache. Sometimes life hurts. But it always gets better. If I have learned anything from running, it is that when you feel tired and hurt, when you ache in places you didn't know existed, you just have to keep going. At any given point, you are mere steps away from awesomeness (and finish line snacks!).

I like to think that everything happens for a reason. I haven't figured out the reason for this yet, but I'm hoping for a sign to point me in the right direction.

Until then I'm going to crawl into The Pretenders' I'll Stand By You and live there for a while. Because it's the song equivalent of a hug. And the only place I want to be right now is inside of a hug.

Lyric of the moment: "When you're standing at the crossroads, and don't know which path to choose, let me come along 'cause even if you're wrong, I'll stand by you..."