Two weeks from today, I will take what I firmly believe and certainly intend to be my final ferry ride from Port Imperial in Weehawkin, New Jersey to the Javits Center in New York City to pick up my bib and my race gear for the New York City Marathon.
I think, but I do not know for certain, Margaret will accompany me on the trip. In years past, she has never done so. However, she knows better than anyone else, except perhaps for me, just how hard this year's training cycle has been for me - and on me.
She knows that even I, the consummate bullshitter who has tap-danced my way through life while humming a blissful tune of self-denial, cannot lie to myself any longer. Well, not on this point at least.
Squarely confronting the reality that for me there shall be no 'next year' has permitted me to dedicate myself to the task at hand, which is racing money for a kick-ass organization (Stomp the Monster) comprised of great people doing great work for cancer patients and their families, this one last time. It is a task, of course, I am entirely incapable of performing by myself, which is why the real heroes of this tale are those who have contributed and who shall contribute to it. It is your selflessness - not mine - and your sacrifice that is helping save lives.
For that, I thank you. On Marathon Sunday, I shall do my level best to prove myself worthy of it.
-AK
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