Running a Marathon After Six Weeks of Rest?

After completing 20-, 21-, and 22-mile training runs over a month ago, who would've thought my mental game would be off on race day. But that's where I'm at. I've only managed three training runs since mid-September, and though the pain started to subside and I had a good Army Ten Miler on Sunday, the pain in my hip returned this Wednesday.

So now what? It's no doubt that I will not be at my physical peak after all these injury-recovering easy weeks leading up to the marathon on October 30. But will I be at my mental peak? And if I'm not, how will that impact my ability to overcome the physical downside of the past month?

I should really just look at it as most first-time marathoners, a quest to just finish. Mentally and physically, I know I will finish. There's no doubt about it, I'm finishing -- especially since I'm running with Team USO and I'm specifically running to honor three Army soldiers killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But still...I'm inherently driven to meet goals, my goal time is 3:15-3:20, and I know I'll be disappointed if I don't make it.