the long, dull speech you missed.

Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know?... You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?

Neo: Because I choose to.

There have been so many nights in the past few years, when things didn’t make a lot of sense to me, or I couldn’t get over something lost, or get past a mistake I’d made, that I had the overwhelming desire to go out to Congress Avenue, find the start line in the dark, and run the entire marathon course. I have found that the farther out of running shape I get, the less of a good idea it sounds like.

For two hours, or 2:50, or 4:10, or five hours, you have one goal, and that’s to run 13.1 miles, or to run 26.2 miles. A mission statement could not be simpler – go the distance, or at least as far as you can possibly go.

I could care less how fast or slow you run today. Times, Boston qualifiers, personal records, even winning, are horribly inadequate measures of who we are, and of our hearts. Great people are not really made by their accomplishments.

There will be things outside your control: the weather; the roads; the people around you; how your body feels; how hard you did or didn’t train in the past. Those conditions may set the stage, but great people are not made by the conditions they find themselves in.

You can control the choices you make, and that’s the beauty of this sport. Right now, we can’t do anything about the physical or mental state in which you’re lining up to race. But once the gun goes off, all that will matter are how you face the choices ahead of you today.

Great people are constantly and consistently defining themselves by their choices. You started with the choice to take up the challenge of running a marathon or half marathon. You made the choice to train, and over six months, you made countless choices to get up, to show up, to run. You make a choice today by stepping to that starting line, and putting yourself in a situation where you will be faced with even more tough, painful choices.

That you are here today says so much about you – the choices you’ve made to get here define the story of your character… so far. I want to tell you all that what you’ve done is enough. But if that were the case, then you could all turn around and go back to bed, and I know none of you would choose that. You are not people that decide that you are just good enough.

The other night, Lorrie and I discussed whether our choices define us. I think that they do, but it’s a non-stop process – there’s never a finished resume, never a final test score, until we die. We have to be responsible for our failures, and we get to take credit for our successes, but who we are is never set in stone, because there’s always another choice to be made, just ahead.

You have to be mature and intelligent today. If you’re feeling ill, dehydrated, or really injured, then slowing down or stopping is every bit the smart and equally tough choice.

But hopefully, that won’t be the case. And if not, then every time you want to slow down, but don’t really have to, you’ll really get to choose the kind of person you are. Every time you want to walk, but don’t, you’ll win. Every time you want to quit, but don’t, you get to be a hero. That’s where you might draw on the “why” that I talked about. That’s what our shirts are about, the “why”.

So, today, choose how you run. Take what the course gives you, and be smart with how you use it. Take what your body can give you, and take a little more.

Today, choose to be who you want to be. No matter what you do for a living, how much money you have, what degree hangs on your wall, no matter what mistakes you’ve made, how you’ve succeeded, or what you’ve lost, today, for that chunk of time you’re out on the road, you can be the kind of person you want to be. You all have the training, and the will - I’ve seen it in every one of you, and I am extremely proud of you all. Now is your time. Don’t let it go.

the "why"

The single question, the greatest paralyzer, and greatest motivator, of my running, has been, "Why?" Why should I run today? What will it matter? Why should I push myself past the point of discomfort? What would it mean?

Three years ago, I lost my job coaching for another group. I had quit my regular law job a year earlier. Things were, to put it delicately, in the shitter. Every day, "why" was the overriding question.

At first, it didn't need an answer. My friends, some of you, answered it with, "get your ass up, let's go run." that's how this all started, and that's what I always need to remember is the heart in our colorful logo - the love of friends.

But that can't answer everything. The question remains, plagues me, haunts me. Many days, I let it pin me to the bed, to the couch, to a dark, hopeless vision of what that day, or the next, holds.

Every day, we have to fight. Every day, we have to answer that question. Brian has to ask and answer it, after almost 21 flawless, awe-inspiring weeks of running and putting the work in. Lorrie and Anna Beth had to ask why they should persevere after injuries and illness.

Nancy has faced the question. One Tuesday night, she faced it through the entire workout. She had to think back to why she pulled the treadmill out into her living room the day after one of the toughest events in her life. Tuesday night, she wanted to quit, in the face of, "Why go on?" But she found four reasons, one for each repeat she had left: two to take back some measure of control that had been taken from her; two for her kids.

Don't get me wrong - you don't need drama or trauma, you don't need to need all of this, like some of us do. Jim and Eve are rocks, always (mostly proportionately) happy to be there. But do not be fooled - they wake up at 5:30am on Saturday mornings, and unless they are really cool robots, they, too, hear that question in their heads, and they must either answer it, or as many of us do on many days, ignore it.

It is easy to lose the thread, the faith, the reasons, the will, the love, to do this. But you each have, for six long months. You faced that question, and many others, and from day to day, you either found an answer, or chose to ignore the question and, to borrow the phrase that works, "just do it."

Your training is done. Now there’s just the waiting. But, there will be a few more days, more battles to be fought to get yourself through these days, and then, through the race, to quell your fears and doubts and face your goal with the desire and intent and will to meet it.

You've come this far, and each of you have repeatedly answered the questions, met the challenges, won enough battles. From here on out, there is no, "I hope..." There can be no more doubts in your heart or mind, because you've put in the work. Whatever you've left behind you in your training is behind you, pushed through. Whatever happens on race day will happen. But you now have every reason to know that you are ready, and that you're not being led to the race, you're stepping to the start line, willing, prepared, and determined to face whatever the day gives you.

Race Week Preparation

So, you’re running the Austin Half Marathon or Marathon this Sunday. Most likely, you’re going to obsess a little (or a lot) this week, so you might as well make it productive…

Get familiar with the course –Go to the race website and print out several copies of the map. Put one in your car, one on your desk at work, one on the nightstand, or on the fridge. Drive the course, if you haven’t run it much. Familiarity will (help) flatten hills and shorten miles. Stop at the bottom of hills, get out, and walk or run up them, so you know what to expect. When you near the top, remember beating the hill. Read the race plan.

Visualize - After driving the course, pick up one of those maps every now and then, and run the race in your head (at high speed - please don't sit at work staring at a map for three hours). Run chunks of it in your head. Feel the rhythm of the stretches that will require more effort, and the ones where you'll be able to recover. Break the course into manageable chunks of two to three miles each.

Plan Nutrition – Know when you'll take nutrition. Work backwards from when you want your last gel or whatever, look at where the water stops are on the map, and plan accordingly. Buy your somethingcose fuel of choice now – some stores will sell out of everything but "Rancid Horseapple" gel by Friday. This is not time to experiment with new brands or flavors. Don’t rely entirely on someone meeting you with supplies. Going nutritionless through the last 12 miles of a marathon can damage a friendship.

Have your outfit ready.
Check the weather frequently. Then, just accept that the weather will be what it will be. It might be 29, windy and cold (as it was in 2006). Fine - what will you wear? Find those pieces, lay them out now.

It might be 74 and humid (2005?). Fine - what will you wear?

Dress for 20 degrees warmer than the temperature. You should know by now what you like. Now is not the time to try new shorts, socks, jogbras, or shirt. That's a sure entry to that popular game show, “What’s Gonna Chafe?”

It will most likely be just a little cold this weekend. It’s good to have some disposable clothes - go to Goodwill, or dig out that hideous sweatshirt, you know, the Alabama one, and use it. Up to 40% of body heat is lost through your head, most of the rest through your extremities. So, hat and gloves are the most crucial things in cold weather.

When you run, don’t be too quick to discard your clothing. At first, you’re going to heat up as blood flow is someone uniform. But after a while, your body will redirect the flow to keep your core warm, and you’ll end up feeling cold again.

In case of rain, have something disposable, or a trash bag with holes for the arms and head. It's nice to be dry while standing around at the start line, then you can rip it off when you get moving.

The sun often emerges – even if it’s cold, you can get a sunburn, so don’t forget sunblock. Got Bodyglide? Bandaids?

Thursday and Friday:
Hydrate. Get a couple of liters of water in you a day. Use ElectroMix, Nuun, or something similar to get plenty of electrolytes.

Friday night:
Get your race packet and check out the expo, or do it early Saturday. This is actually your best night to get your carbs.

Saturday:
Stay off your feet. This is not the time for a hike, lawn work, walking at the 2006 Chicago Marathon expo for four hours trying to decide if I should buy and wear new clothes for the marathon.

Know where you’re parking Sunday morning, and how you’ll get there. Know the street closures, and have a back-up plan.

Eat early – Unless you already have a consistent routine (that works), eat at 5:30 or 6, be done by 7 or 7:30. You want to be able to sleep, and you want the food to digest, so that it'll be usable in the race, not filling up your lower intestines demanding immediate release at mile five.

Don't drink too late - you want to be able to sleep without getting up constantly through the night.

Get everything together Saturday night:

• Put your D-chip on your shoe!
• Pin your race bib to your shirt or shorts. This could take you half an hour to get it perfectly straight. It has to be straight. It just does.
• Put your gels, electrolyte capsules, whatever you're taking on the course, in whatever you're taking them in.
• Pack your drop bag with your post-race stuff –dry clothes and shoes, and a little cash hidden in those shoes for the finish line food court.
• Make sure you have everything you need for breakfast.

Work out your morning schedule backwards:

• 7am start time.
• You need to be parked and on-site at 6:00am, AT THE LATEST.
• Figure out how long it’ll take to get downtown, conservatively.
• You want to use the restroom (twosies) before you leave. Give yourself time (because you never know) - so, seated 15-20 minutes before you need to leave.
• You need to allow at least an hour for your breakfast to digest, so you need to be eating an hour before that.
• Set your alarm for the time you arrive at (you'll eat first).
• Set multiple alarms. Use your alarm clock, your phone, your running watch. Get a friend to call you. Leave nothing to chance.

Race morning:

• GET THE HELL UP. No snooze button.
• Eat first, and have some water.
• If you've done things right, you have an hour to dress, make sure your bib number really is straight, relax, and check the weather, and hope they don’t open with “Wow, it is really unpleasantly hot and humid out there.” IBM 10K, 2006.
• In case of severe weather, meteor strike, or uprising of giant robot aphids, check KLBJ AM 590 for information.

At the race:

• DO NOT BE LATE. Period. You need to park, drop your bag, and have time to relax, warm-up a little, and hit the porta-potty.
• Get to the start line by 6:50. Then... relax. Soak up this moment. Look around at all the people that are about to do something pretty amazing. You're one of them.