T-5 days and counting....

The Country Music 1/2 Marathon is almost here! I have been training seriously for about 4 months. I've put lots of miles on these legs & feet and am actually really looking forward to Saturday! We've got family coming into town and my brother Keith is running with Michael & I, along with several neighbors and friends from church. It has taken much coordination to get the kids in the right place so we can just wake up, eat, and run, but I think I've finally gotten it all figured out.

My mother-in-law is keeping Will overnight on Friday night and part of Saturday; My parents will take care of John & Maddy and get them to John's baseball game at 10:30 that morning; we're still trying to work out the parking situation/shuttle. A few years ago, Keith & Michael ran the race together and followed the advice in the race literature: they woke up at 3:30 in the morning, parked at the finish line and rode the shuttle from the finish to the start line only to arrive before the volunteers did and so they had about 2 hours to kill before the race started! They stretched by the Parthenon; talked to the media folk there to cover the race; were first in line for the port-a-potties. We still laugh about that one. We'd like to avoid that if at all possible, however, we'd equally like to avoid the mistake I made last year. I did not have a car at the finish line (because there was a wreck at the exit to get off there earlier that morning), couldn't find a ride back to the start line where I'd parked and ended up PRAYING (literally) for someone to come along to give me a lift back to the start line.

OK, moving on:
This week, I hope to be wise with my diet and exercise--I plan to make it an easy week...skipping my strength training classes and will probably only do two short and easy runs to save my legs for Saturday.

The diet part, however, is a little trickier for me. I made the mistake before my last long run of fueling up past the point of fueling up and boy did I pay for it during my run! We were in KY at my parent's house and the option is available to just eat all day if that's what you desire. And, so I did. BIG MISTAKE. Banana pudding, strawberry pretzel salad, jelly beans galore, cupcakes, and a huge Easter dinner. The next day as I ran my 11 miles, I also did a lot of praying. I was actually longing to come upon a port-a-potty, if you know what I mean.

So, I'm planning to avoid that scenario as well.

Last, but not least, another one bit the dust. I lost another running partner. I am the kiss of death to someone's running career, apparently. If you are looking to get into running....don't ask me to train with you! Last year, I trained with Kirsten for 4 months and she woke up in the middle of the night before the race with a terrible stomach virus.

This year, I trained with Micah for 4 months before she dropped out because of her IT Band (don't ask me to explain the IT Band....just know that it is along the side of your leg from your knee to your hip.)

So, I'll be running the actual race solo again. Which.....could be good. I am a very social runner, so when I'm running with a friend, we just chat, laugh, tell life stories, give unsolicited advice to each other, show our stretch marks to each other, cry and so forth and so on. Last year when I had to run by myself at the last minute, I approached the start line with a "the quicker I do this, the quicker it's over" mentality and it paid off! I shaved 15 minutes off my old record. So, perhaps this year I'll do the same. Just run. Faster you run, faster you finish.