By John Carlin
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: March 17, 2008

The time has come to run.  It’s this week.  The ultra-effort, ultra-dreaded, ultra marathon is Saturday.  It’s a 31 mile trail run that is either up or down hill and never flat.  This is the longest run I have ever undertaken and it will no doubt be a bit of a test.  However, runners know the week before is a test as well. 

March 22 is the date.

That’s five days from now; Five days where I can:
A. worry
B. lose sleep
C. embrace the fact that I have trained for this and am ready
D. A & B but not C

Storm Team 10 Meteorologist Jeff Haniewich is calling for cloudy skies and temperatures in the 50’s.  . 
I can either:
A. worry that he’s wrong
B. agree that he’s right, knowing it could change to sleet and freezing rain anyway
C. be really psyched over the fact 56 and cloudy are perfect conditions.
D. A & B but not C

I want to wear a back pack as I have in my training runs, and can’t decide if that is the way to go, or if I should try carrying water bottles in each hand like training partner Troy.  The backpack allows me to carry extra things such as a light jacket, first aid stuff, salt tablets, a hydration bladder for water, etc. etc. The bottles are lighter, and every ounce matters when you’re at the edge of your ability. 
I could:
A. Decide now to wear the backpack, with all the stuff I’ll need
B. Fret over it for the next five days so that I A) worry and B) lose sleep
C. Decide to wear the backpack and fret over what to put in it
D. B & C but not A

The race begins at 6 a.m. near Waynesboro.  That’s like six in the morning!  Jeez.  6 a.m.
is:
A. so early that getting up is harder than the 31 mile race
B. another cause of dread that leads to A) Worry and B) Loss of sleep which is an issue because 6 a.m. is C) so early that getting up harder than the 31 mile race
C. not that bad compared to what I do when I go fishing
D. even worse than A & B but not C

Do you see how this goes?  This is what the week before a big event can be.  The angst is worse than the race itself.  Of course I don’t have to do this.  So what if I trained all winter?  So what if Troy and I survived the wind storm of the century running twenty miles on virtually unprotected mountain ridges? Who cares that we fought through blisters and cramping legs and climbed over downed trees Sunday after Sunday?

It would be easy enough to:
A. Just go and enjoy an adventure in the woods
B. Stay home and watch college basketball
C. Stay home and watch the fish in the aquarium
D. B & C but not A

I’d like to decide, but I’ve got too much to think about.