It's put up or shut up time at tomorrow's First Light Marathon

Bright and early tomorrow morning in Mobile, I will attempt to run my first marathon (26.2 miles).

I’ve ran in dozens of organized foot races in the past, most of them in Mobile, but none of them longer than a half-marathon, that is, 13.1 miles.

Back in the late summer, I read an article in Outside magazine about marathon running, and the article included a running plan that would help just about anyone prepare for their first marathon. I tore it out, made up my mind to give it a shot and followed the plan as closely as possible. At age 34, I figured that if I was ever going to say that I’d ran a marathon, I’d better do it now before I get to old to make a serious attempt.

As best as I can tell, between the first week of September and today, I logged 53 training runs, covering 372 miles. I managed to tough out the longest training run, 20 miles, two weeks ago before beginning to taper off in preparation for the race tomorrow. Those 20 miles are the farthest I’ve ever run at one time without stopping.

I’ll be running in the BankTrust First Light Marathon in Mobile in the morning, and according to the Mobile Press-Register on Thursday, a record number of over 1,800 people had signed up for the marathon, half-marathon, relay and 1.2-mile fun run.

One unwanted curve that has been thrown into my first marathon experience is the weather forecast. Despite the fact that Mobile is known for its mild weather, the temperature at tomorrow’s marathon start time, 7:30 a.m., is supposed to be around 35 degrees. Throw in a predicted 17 mph northeast wind, and the wind-chill factor will be 27 degrees, according to The Weather Channel.

Winds that strong will mean one thing for certain. No records will likely be set tomorrow by any of the world-class runners in attendance.

Of course, I’ve no intention or real chance of finishing in record time anyway. My goal is to simply finish and to have fun in the process. And from the looks of things, I will have plenty of company.

To save some time, I rode down to Mobile today and picked up my race packet early, so that I wouldn’t have to bother doing so tomorrow morning. Race packets were available for early pick up at the Admiral Semmes Hotel in downtown Mobile, and there was a large crowd there when I slipped in to get my official race bib and race T-shirt.

In the end, I have to admit that I’m a little nervous about tomorrow. When push comes to shove, will I have the juice to put for the effort I know will be required to finish the race? Will I be able to dig down deep inside and find that extra something to man up and not stop? One can only trust that the weeks of training will pay off in the moment of truth. I can assure you my race plan is a simple one – I’m just going to keep putting one foot in front of the other one until I get to the finish line, where my wife and daughter will be waiting with a large jug of Gatorade and an over-sized bottle Extra Strength Tylenol.