Ready for Tomorrow

When I say "ready for tomorrow," do not make the mistake of thinking I am even remotely implying I'm prepared for the marathon this weekend.  My head is full of what-ifs.  What if the Beijing Marathon hadn't been cancelled?  Would I have PR'ed?  What if I'd made at least some effort to do some long runs during the few weeks of vacation in China?  What if I'd at least done some strength training while we were there?  What if I'd found a 24 hour gym last week and gone running after I woke up at 1 a.m. from jet lag?  What if I'd had less to drink at my brother's wedding this past weekend and gotten in at least a 10 mile run or something?  What if I hadn't started back to boot camp yesterday and run this morning in a final days attempt to restore some fitness that I know is 100% futile at this point?  If any of that had changed, would I be ready to run the marathon this weekend?  Who's to say?  But mark my words, this marathon is going to be ugly -- like my time is likely to end up where it was more than 5 years ago.  No chance of a RE-Q (and my last RE-Q has now expired, so I need to requalify if I want to run Boston again).  Ugly.  If the weather's bad, it will be hideous. 

But I'm ready for tomorrow in that I'm ready for the elections to be over.  I've had mixed feelings about voting this year.  My best friend posted a status to FB today that sums it up well:  "Having lived previously in Texas and Alabama, I appreciate living in a swing state where you know your vote matters and where the candidates actually campaign. That said, my children and I will also appreciate the end of the constant barrage of negative campaign ads! There is no excuse for showing the same ad four times during one commercial break."
When you live in a state that has no chance of changing color, regardless of whether it's the color you want, it's hard to get motivated to vote. Especially when you're out of the country for most of the early voting time and way behind at work when you return from that very long vacation, so it's hard to get to the polls on election day.

For the record, I made it to the last day of early voting.  We were back in town and due to jet lag, I was at the office well before the crack of dawn (and completely exhausted by early afternoon), so I stopped on my way home from work and was able to quickly get in and out.  Whew.  There were a couple things I actually cared about on the ballot where there is at least some chance that my vote matters -- the sheriff and a bond proposal.  However, as to president and many other options on the ballot, either my vote doesn't matter, or I just don't know/care enough about the issues -- I have mixed feelings on electing judges anyway (and don't get me started on partisan judges in the first place,) and judicial races composed about 90% or more of our ballot here. 

But the main reason I'm ready for tomorrow is I just want it to be over.  Having been in Wisconsin for the last few days for my brother's wedding, wow, I'd be even more ready if I lived there.  At least we don't really have any political commercials on TV here at least for President.  The political ads and phone calls there were non-stop.  I'm especially in awe of the China-hating (on both sides) that seems to be so prevalent and interesting in light of our trip there last week.  But the main reason I'm ready for tomorrow is because I hate the awful things people, including friends, say and the extreme partisanship.  I'm not naive enough to think this is something new or getting worse, though I understand that inclination, I feel like this is nothing compared to say the 1800 election.  Extreme partisanship, hyperbole, etc. has a long and storied tradition in this county and that's not changing anytime soon.  But what has changed is now it's in my facebook news feed!  That wasn't the case for someone in 1800 who wanted to ignore the hate and spin and misleading statements.  But it's just a shame to feel like I don't like some people who I know full well I do like when they're not spouting politics all the time. 

The good news is that living in the US, I don't feel like the election is really that important.  We're lucky enough not to have a candidate at could completely chage our world -- that whole checks and balances thing helps.  Unlike in other countries, there's no real communist party or anything like that with any chance of winning today.  Sure, some important things could change based on who is in office, and there's always the possibility of something crazy happening, but history is a strong predictor, and this country has been very stable for very long, and I don't really think either of these candidates will change that. 

Anyway, I'm ready for tomorrow, be it the result I'd prefer or not.  I just hope it's a definitive answer one way or the other!