Today I ran the LA Marathon, marathon, number 28 for me. It was fun, and engaging, well attended (~25,000 runners) with a very nice Southern California setting for a race. Weather was just about perfect, 56 degrees at the start; a great day to be running 26.2 miles. Yet, when I crossed the start line it just felt different. I felt a heightened sense of awareness of what I was there to do. Yes, I was to run the distance, to do it in a reasonable time, and get myself to the finish line. There was more, though, I could not stop thinking about the Six Continent Challenge. It rattled around in my head, over and over again. In three weeks, I would be setting out to run six marathons, in six days, on six continents. How am I going to feel? Will it hurt? Will I be more hungry? Will I be able to recover? What should I eat? The questions fired quickly through my brain and they stayed with me throughout the race. As I reflect on the race, why I ran today, and the magnitude of my upcoming challenge, it makes sense. I needed to get closer to the challenge, intellectually and emotionally, we are way beyond the planning phase and the questions needed to be answered…and they were….. I now have firmly, in my head and my heart, that I am ready to run the six marathons and to finish on April 15th in Santa Monica. Three weeks, here we go, THPL going to the next level, it is almost show time.…..

Loving life as I get ready for the big challenge