Unless your w*rk situation is truly abysmal, you can do one more year standing on your head! You will be amazed at how quickly it will go by. Keep in mind, if at anytime you decide you can't put one more foot in front of the other, there is no shame in bowing out of a marathon - especially after mile 20! At least you took a shot. The small difference in your life-style by leaving a year earlier than planned should be relatively small - maybe how often you eat out or change cars. The only caveat would be if you must do one more year "before the mast" to get, for instance, employee supplemented health insurance. Honestly, once I vested that perq. (and pension), I relaxed and actually began to enjoy my j*b - until I didn't and left. Those last 7 years went by very quickly as I knew I could leave at any time. YMMV
Thanks for the info on the marathon. Makes sense. The Honolulu Marathon goes by our house each year and it is interesting to watch the runners who are generally spread out by then. Some look determined, some look to be in another world and some look as if they could collapse at any moment. Anymore, I don't even like to drive 26.2 miles.