getting closer....

we're getting closer and closer to Marathon Monday and i'm getting more and more nervous! Not only have my runs been miserable lately because of the sudden warm weather, but i'm still pretty far from my fundraising goal!

the forecast for tomorrow is 58 degrees and sunny so i'm hoping for a good run to boost my spirits!

80 degrees and sunny is no good!

After a very soggy week, the Sun God finally granted Boston with its graces on Friday. Saturday came around with highs of 78 degrees and cloudless skies. Absolutely perfect weather conditions for walking around the city, or dining al fresco, or laying out on a roofdeck. Absolutely horrid conditions for runner that's been training in scarf-hat-mittens weather.

I did the last 10.5 miles of the course, through the Newton, Brookline, and into Copley, and i was absolutely drained. The first five miles or so i was running in direct sunlight, through the Newton hills and Heartbreak Hill, and i was sweating like a pig! It's amazing how tired warm weather and sunlight can make your body.

i am PRAYING that the weather is cooler on April 19th!!

Pictures from Saturday's Run!

Go Team Brigham!

Right around mile 11

My running buddies and I before we headed out of Framingham on our trek back to Boston!

21 Miles - Check!

At 7 a.m. this past Saturday, the Fitcorp training team put us all on school buses, drove us out to Framingham, dropped us off at the Harley Davidson parking lot, and said "now find your way back on foot! muhahahahhaahhaaa"

So, we ran... and we ran... .and we ran.... the 21 miles along the marathon route back to the Fitcorp at 1 Beacon Street. Collecting freebies from vendors that had set up tents along the way, I made it back in one piece! No serious pain, my knees were just very sore.

When I ran 18.3 miles a few weeks ago, I was surprised at how good i felt after and expected to feel roughly the same was after 21. It is unbelievable how intensely your body feels that 3 mile difference. Ending my 18 mile runs, i felt as if i could definitely go farther. Ending the run this weekend, i was like "omg i'm going to have to go farther!?!?!"

Now it's three weeks of sweet sweet tapering down... oh and raising $1,000 ahhhh!!!

thank GOD for CitySports!

I just experienced a possible shoe-fiasco. Two weeks ago, I bought new sneakers. The salesman at at CitySports suggested I buy a motion control shoe because I have flat feet. I bought the shoe... and the past two weeks have been hell! I have to run the 21 miler tomorrow and I was freaking out. I feel like the shoes slowed me down, like i could barely move my foot, and they were diggin into my ankle.

As a motion of last resort, I had to try to return the shoes (which i've been wearing for 2 weeks, i don't have the box OR the receipt for). I was nervous, i was prepared to beg and plead, i was ready to bring on the tears.

Shaking and blubbering, i explained the story to the cashier, expecting her to respond with a big fat "no way!" But instead, she just simply said "ok, you can exchange them, go ahead and pick out your new shoes." Then, two sales women helped me pick out EXACTLY the shoe i needed - having me walk and do lunges so they could analyze my needs. Thank god for great customer service!! Not to mention they were friendly and interested in hearing all about the marathon training.

That type of help and support is what creates strong customer loyalty. THANK YOU City Sports!

Feeling so unprepared!

Ahh - the marathon is less than a month away and I really feel so unprepared! I know I've been training a lot, but when I look back on the past 4 months, it all feels like such a blur.

This weekend is our big run - 21 miles along the marathon course. Most of the charities participate and there's even a camera crew out to take pictures of us along the way. A bus pics us up from our typical starting point and brings us out to Hopkinton for an 8:00 a.m. start. They call it the "dress rehearsal," we're even supposed to wear our bibs to make sure they're not horribly uncomfortable on race day (although, what do we do if they're horribly uncomfortable during this 21-miler?).

I'm really excited but also really nervous - what if I don't eat a good enough dinner the night before? What if my new sneakers really start to hurt? What if I can't do it!? What if I don't raise all my money!? What if what if what if!!??

i think i'm getting old.

today i got really annoyed that i couldn't work late because i had to do some training after work. since when did i become one of those late-hour office lurkers? is it because i'm almost twenty five and a half!?

Let's calculate my age-by-typical-activities:

Typical Activities:

running
working
cooking
reading in bed
watching food shows
talking about puppies

Calculated age: 38

yikes!