1 day left

I am 1 day away from the Silicon Valley Marathon! I finished all my training runs and now I am just waiting for Sunday to come.

My longest training run was on Oct 5th and it was 20 miles. I ran 7 miles before the San Jose R&R half marathon. I hit a wall towards the end and it was very difficult, but I completed the 20 miles. So I know that 26.2 miles will be very tough. But, I'm excited to complete it.

In late May (I believe it was May 27th) I had a doctor's appointment. I weighted about 230 pounds and my blood pressure was high. I thought about my dad and how he always smoked and would not listen to us asking him to stop. He passed away with lung cancer on Oct. 28, 2007. It can be frustrating when people do things that we know are bad and then they suffer the consequences. However, thinking about my life, I was doing similar actions. I was not smoking, but I was not watching my weight. I was not exercising and I was not eating proper.

So I decided that I needed to start getting in shape. I would ride my bike to work and I started watching what I eat. I also started going for jogs. I would not go for long jogs. When I first started jogging I would only be able to run to the end of the nearby park and back. It was about 1.6 miles and I went at a very slow pace. I used to run more when I was young, but it had been about 5 years since I ran. Each week I would slowly try to increase my distance. I would run 2 miles, then 2.7 miles, then 3 miles. I would also take my bike out for longer rides. I did a couple of 20 plus mile bike rides. I was slowly losing weight and slowly getting in shape (I was down to about 215 in early July and my blood pressure was normal.

One of my goals in life had been to run a marathon. I checked out the various marathons and had noticed the Silicon Valley Marathon was two days before the first year of my dad's death. I have an earlier blog talking about my first long run and my decision to sign up for the marathon (see the earlier blogs on this webpage). So to make a long story short, my first long run was July 20th. From that point forward I increased my long training runs up to 20 miles. I have also helped raise funds for the American Cancer Society in his name (LINK TO ACS PAGE)

I now weigh 180 pounds. The training has been tough and my knees have had many very sore days. Now, I am less than 24 hours from the marathon. I'm not going to worry about times (I don't think I can keep a 10 min a mile pace. I was able for my 18 mile run, but not my 20 mile run), I'm just going to give it my best to complete it. I remember a year ago watching my dad fight to stand up. Fight to take a step. Him having to use a walker and struggle to get a few feet. Him unable to get out of bed the final few days. I remember the doctor telling him that he only had 1 week to live. It was very tough to watch him go through what he had to endure. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to even walk, let along run 26.2 miles. I'll be thinking of my dad when I need strength to finish.

Thanks for all the support everyone.