Things I've Learned While Training for The Marine Corps Marathon

That because 18 miles is hard does not negate the fact that 3 miles is hard. 3 miles is just hard for less time.
That pain is relative, but cookies are constant.
That Gu and Advil can be considered food groups.
What the underside of my naked nailbed looks like.
The difference between "good socks" and "bad socks."
That after 18 miles, anything is funny. Even pain. Sometimes especially pain.
That there are a lot of little tendons in my knee, and I need all of them to depress the clutch the day after a long run.
Ice is nice.
Every inch of the D&R towpath. In excruciating detail.
That most people think I am truly crazy when I tell them what I did with my day off.
That yes, you really can make a sandwich out of peanut butter and bacon. On toast.
That what I thought was out of breath at mile 2 in March was really just getting warmed up.
If it's on your body, it can chafe.
That no matter how tired my legs get, I can still run with my chin. (Unlike my marathon-friend Kat, however, I cannot run on my chin.)
That I'm stronger than my husband thought I was. That I'm stronger than I thought I was. But I'm not stronger than my mom and dad thought I was.
That when I bitch and moan and groan about needing cookies, complete strangers will send them to me, because they're still my marathon-friends.
The guys at EMS lie. Nuun electrolyte tablets make you burp.
How to convert km/mi and calculate negative splits on the fly.
That fartlek is not a bodily function.
That it's possible to tell the weather without getting out of bed, by how your left knee feels.
And that I'm going home with some hardware. Oh yes I am.