Day 110

Big travel day! I used a vacation day at job number one, so I had the entire day to get ready for my trip. I started off with a manicure, then went to Zumba (last exercise before the race!). After class, Sarah and I hit up Panera for lunch - and yes, I did thank the cashier for all of the water they happily gave us during training. :-)

The rest of the afternoon was spent packing - then Lisa took me to the airport (thank you thank you!) and it was time to go!!

Ready for takeoff!

I'm not sure why, but I wasn't nearly as nervous as I was the day before. I suppose packing and getting on a plane made it feel more real - this is going to happen, there's no turning back now! The flight down to DC was nice and short. And thanks to relatively on time flights, my parents landed at the same time and we met in baggage claim!

In DC!

The rest of the night was spent checking into our hotel, eating dinner, and watching the weather channel. Figuring I wouldn't get a very good night's sleep the night before the marathon, I made sure to get in bed early in hopes to bank some sleep for the next night.

All in all, a pretty fun day!

I'm Alive!

Hello patient friends! Hurricane Sandy held me hostage in my hotel (that did not have computer access) so I apologize that I have not been able to keep you all updated for the last week! I will pretend like I have a time machine and go back and post what I wish I could have posted all week long. Enjoy catching up!

Day 109

Is it time yet? I'm ready to do this thing. No matter what I do, I can't seem to get that "anxious" feeling out of my chest. I think people that die doing marathons don't die from the running - they probably die from all the stress that leads up to it! I know I won't die, but being on edge for 3 more days can't be healthy.

So what's contributing to all of this stress and anxiety? This.

90% chance of rain :-(

After much online investigation while at job number one, I also learned there will be 10-20 mph winds as well. So far, the weather peeps are saying it won't start getting bad until 10:00am. Obviously not ideal, but it did make me feel like there was at least a small glimmer of hope that I wouldn't be standing around for two hours getting soaked before it was even time to start running.

Anyway, my friends and parents are all being very wonderful and supportive which I appreciate very much. Waiting for me on my desk this morning was this great surprise from Lisa...

Look closely: Peanut Butter Acorns a la Martha Stewart!

Lisa knows me so well. :-) The peanut butter acorns are dipped in chocolate and have a pretzel sticking out the top to make the stem. Clever and delicious! Her card was also very sweet - I will be taking it with me on my trip. Rebecca also treated me to a pre-marathon diet coke during the afternoon (she also knows me very well) and even bigger... saved me from eating a chocolate cupcake I was given. Thank you for taking it away from me Rebecca!

After work I met Alyssa for my LAST TRAINING RUN!!! The temperature outside was unseasonably warm, so our 4 miles were extra sweaty. Alyssa and I have gone hundreds of miles together - and with each mile I love running with her more and more. If only she could come with me!! Alys also gave me a card that was really touching. I feel so lucky to be so loved.

Training runs are done!

I spent the rest of the night at a meeting for job number two. It wasn't terrible, and everyone wished me well on my race as I was leaving. Marcia even gave me a warm-up check list to use. She is so great!

Ok time for bed. I admit I splurged a bit eating too many peanut butter acorn treats (Lisa, they are sooo good), but otherwise I managed to stay on track. With only two days left, it's time to be super strict with food. I don't want to have an accident in my pants (although the rain might wash it all away...). Ok goodnight!

Total Miles Run: 388.73
Total Weight Change: -11.2

Day 108

Another day closer!

Today I went to job number one and actually got a lot done - only one more day to wrap things up before I'm out of the office for a bit. Yay! After work I went tanning (I know it's bad for me...but is makes me happy so I don't care). Then it was time to run. Once again I forgot my watch, so I logged three miles on the treadmill. I looked pretty ridiculous because during my run I decided to try out my new SPIbelt. I needed a place to carry some of my gels during the marathon so I got a SPIbelt (basically a slimmed down version of a fanny pack) - I wore it (with gels stashed in it) during my run tonight to make sure it wouldn't bounce around or make my stomach hurt. It's not perfect, but it will definitely serve it's purpose. Throughout the course of my time at the club, I got to see Anna, Lisa, and Alyssa - we all ended up on ellipticals next to each other. Workout party!

You'd laugh if you knew how hard it was to take this picture :-)

I spent the rest of the night on the couch watching the funny tv shows in my pajamas. I love Wednesday nights!

Tomorrow will be a busy day... last day at job number one, last run until the marathon, meeting at night for job number two, and then laundry so I can pack for my trip. I better get my rest!

Total Miles Run: 384.71
Total Weight Change: -11.2

Day 107

Last night I had a brilliant idea which led me to create this:

Everyone's who's done a training run with me

It's the size of my iPod so I'm going to slip it in my armband for the marathon. That way all of my training buddies will be with me the whole way. :-)

Once again I'm at work, looking up marathon info, and I feel like I'm going to puke. Remember how I mentioned awhile back that I've run in rain, snow, hot, humid, you name it. Well... I thought I'd done it all, but no. Not quite yet...

Tropical Storm Sandy

This is supposed to hit the East Coast this weekend. WHY?!!!???!?!? My body can't decide whether to have a heart attack or hyperventilate. Maybe both. How could this happen?!?! I'm going to puke. I wonder how far down the spiral-of-despair I can travel in 5 days... This is why I will never get married outside.

Time for job number two. This day can't end soon enough - I didn't sleep very well last night so I'm exhausted and already wishing it were time for bed. Hopefully my front desk friends will help wake me up!

Day 106

Six Days! The countdown is really on.

I got up nice and early to go for a 4 mile run with Katie. Katie worked until 11:30pm the night before, so the fact that she was willing to get up and run with me before I had to go to work was amazing (although I'm sure part of her motivation was the chance to get to use her new running watch she got for her birthday!). Even though it looks stupid on me, I wore my new Marine Corps Marathon hat! 

It's almost here!

Katie and I had a great run, averaging 9:18/mile. :-) I took a really cute picture of us once we were done, but I just accidentally deleted it. Boo. Try to visualize Katie and I looking sweaty but still happy and cute, haha.

I tried to be productive at work today, but eventually I started reading the Marine Corps Marathon website and could not stop. Reading all of the info made me so nervous, I felt like I was going to puke! This is going to be a long week at work...

After work I quickly changed and went for another run - I was (sort of) trying to make up for the 10 miles I missed on Sunday. I only managed to squeeze in another 2 miles before it was time for zumba - better than nothing! Class was fun, although half way through I panicked that I had lost my running watch (I took it off before class started). It's amazing how attached to that thing I am!

My night ended with a phone call to my parents. I talked to my dad a lot about the race and got really excited again! I'm just going to apologize in advance because I know I'm going to be super obnoxious this week. I can't help it!

Total Miles Run: 381.70
Total Weight Change: -8.7

Day 103 + 104 + 105

Holy epic blog-update fail! I'm so sorry, but I promise it was not a result of laziness - I just had a really busy weekend. Here are the highlights.

Friday: Started with a text.

Sarah is a running buddy and alarm clock all in one!

I know I've said it about 10,000 times over the last 100+ days, but can I just say again that I have the best friends ever? Sarah AND Katie agreed to run 4 miles with me to make sure I'd get out and do it. Andy decided to come too, so it was quite the running party.

Super Friends!

I'm not sure Andy, Sarah, or Katie were particularly thrilled with the run, but that just makes their commitment even all that more remarkable. Thank you friends! 

The rest of my Friday was spent at work, then getting my hair cut and highlighted... the color is nice but it is shorter than I'd like - so much for a pretty ponytail during my marathon. That night Andy and I went to dinner and then met people at The Old Toad to celebrate Katie's birthday! It was a pretty fun day. :-)

Saturday: Worked job number two - it actually went by fairly fast so it was fine. After work I was off to a race, only this time... I wasn't running! Sarah signed up for a 5k and I just went to watch. It was really weird to go to a race and not run it, but I'm so glad I was there because.... SARAH CAME IN FIRST PLACE IN HER AGE DIVISION!!!! It's about freaking time!

No longer a 1st place loser. ;-)

That night we went out to dinner/hung out to celebrate her big win and my upcoming marathon. I had a great time and definitely enjoyed my last night of unrestricted fun. Why was it the last night?? Because....

Sunday: The marathon is one week from today!!!!!!!!!! Time to watch what I eat, drink lots of water, and get as much sleep as possible. I plan to be the most boring person on Earth this week - the lamer I am, the happier I will be, haha. However, today was about as un-boring as possible. After a late night on Saturday, I slept in until a little after 9:00am. Amazing - Put a tally in the "lots of sleep" column! Then it was time to go to the club to ambush Katie (today was her actual birthday).

Happy Birthday!!!

Poor Katie had to work her two jobs ALL day long, but I'm hoping her birthday ambush made it a little less painful. :-) Surprisingly Katie wasn't the only one to get presents today. My Adopted Mom (Sarah's mom) brought me one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received.

See the 13.1 and the 26.2??

Friends... she MADE this! As in painted the fabric and everything! The back says energy... the inside has pockets made out of fabric covered in music notes. Could anything be more perfect?! Oh, but it gets better... because inside was.... a jar of chocolate peanut butter amazingness. I'm not going to let myself have any until I finish my race - I think staying out of the jar this week might be harder than running all 26.2 miles! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!

My own real mom and dad sent me some love from 2,500 miles away too - the best card, full of support and encouragement, plus a gift card to Panera! My mom wrote a note saying to thank them for all of the free water. It's perfect! I love Panera!! And the card was just what I needed to feel encouraged to keep on track during this last stretch. I feel so loved. :-)

Anyway, back to my Sunday... Since it was later in the morning and I was already at the club I went to zumba! Now this was sort  of naughty, because I was supposed to run 10 miles today. But guys... I had so much fun! For the first time in easily a month, I felt like I could actually do most of the moves without my knee killing me. I wasn't "Old Lady Zumba" for a change! I felt a little guilty for not running, so after class I went out and ran 3 miles. The weather was gorgeous and I wish I could have gone longer, but my stomach was growling (I needed some lunch!) so I wrapped it up. At least I did something.

The rest of the day was spent with a visit to Sue's house (she was hosting a jewelry party) and then a trip with Andy to meet his parents and brother for dinner. It's amazing to think that I have not seen them since my first 10 mile long run back when training started (the first time I tried a gel!). Thinking about it that way made me realize how long we actually have been training for. I can't believe it's almost here... EEEE!!!!!

Ok, I better sign off so I can get that extra bit of sleep! And I promise to also get back on track with regular blog updates. Only a week left! I sort of want to keep the blog going though.... what could I write about next? Any ideas??

Total Miles Run: 375.6 (If I don't run another step until the marathon, I will still break 400 miles! Wow!)

Total Weight Change: -7.7