I'm cooked. Here it is, the day of the 11th annual Motorola Marathon. I'm all prepared to scam the good folks who put on this great community event, and they go out and make their race cheater-proof. I ask you, is that fair? This was to be my one shot at winning a marathon without actually running a marathon. Figured I'd duck out from behind a Port-a-potty or the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue and make a mad dash for the finish line. The months of rigorous training have always been a sticking point with me, and then there's that 26.2-mile jaunt. The .2 part I can handle.

What is the narrator's mood in this passage?

a.
serious and competitive

b.
argumentative and aggressive

c.
informal and playful

d.
tired and troubled