The Odyssey--Mile 13

My good friend Mary called me the day before the race to give me some advice. As someone who had run a few marathons herself, I had asked her opinion numerous times during my months of training.

On December 11th, she said to me, "Remember, when you get to Mile 13 say to yourself, 'Only 13 miles left to run.'"

I replied, "You mean say, 'Hey, this is great...only 13 miles left!' instead of 'Ohmigod, I still have 13 miles left!' right?"

"That's it. You're ready."

By the time I caught a glimpse of the the Mile 13 marker, I had run around Diamond Head, seem the sun rise from Kahala, and cheered for the women who led the race and were already coming back from the turnaround point in Hawaii Kai.

Even so, I said to myself, "Wow, only 13 miles left!"

And I actually meant it.