in 24 hrs it will almost be over

in 24 hours we will be at our 13.5-14 mile marker... i was going to write "if all goes well", but hey, let's believe in the Secret for just one day (don't tell anyone!!) and try to attract positive energy.

I woke up with a cold sore this am. I give them to myself from stress and being overwhelmed. ALthough I am slightly overwhelmed with the idea of running a marathon I really was more anxious about my family and friends and them not being wet or bored or having a bad experience. That and work but that's for another blog. I think I caught it early enough where it won't be an issue. I slept like a Queen last night thanks to Benadryl which was key on a Friday before the race. If I must b e honest, I don't feel nervous about tomorrow. More so just about the weather. Hope that the rain holds up or sticks to a drizzle.

I'm just about to leave to go meet the other TnT'ers at their office and take the bus down to Long Branch.

Let's rock this.

48 hours

The countdown has begun.

It's here.

48 hours and I will be 2.5 hours into my first marathon. It's most liekly going to rain. That is OK. Just means the Scotland 10-K was better prep than I realized. I am OK with rain.

I'm really excited. I think that my legs will cooperate. I ran yesterday on the traedmill (boy do i hate the treadmill-- it's just too easy to stop!!) for 26 min... my shin was cramping so I stopped after 26- why push to 30 there was no point. I ran 10 min at 12 for a warmup, 10 min at 11 for marathon pace (but its actually faster than) and then 6 min at 9:30 for a pick up. It felt comfortable lung and breathing wise so that is the most obviousl progress from when I started. I used to have serious breathing problems running at 9:30. Eventually I hope to be able to run a 10K in 59 min. That's my summer goal I think. We'll make more goals as time passes...

So yeah, trying to leave early today in order to pack and get organized.

Excition!!

taper is in my head

my last long run was april 4th. it was 20 miles. april 17th i ran 11.5 miles and it felt good. since then only a few short runs, but a lot of workouts.

nerves.

I hate taper

It's official. I am a cow. A long distance running cow. But a cow nonetheless. Carbs from bagels, pizza, gatorade and cereal are doign this to me. Apparently it's how taper 'madness' goes.

It blows.

Tonight a 30 min run is allowed! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

taper taper taper

Did 12 min on the elliptical on a light setting and 9 min on the upright bike at the gym last night. And I stretched on the technogym machine that I've come to love so much. At least I'm not breaking my gym habit!! AND i finally found pics of these machines...

Only ate about 53% carbs yesterday even though I'm trying hard to get to the requisite 65-70% range... I know a lot of people will laugh at me, but it's really hard. Esp when I've never been a huge carber.

Last night I got what I'll call a gentle massage and did nothing else. Watched Biggest Loser- my favorite show- and it just has the best msg. We all make so many excuses. And yes, some are necessary, I mean they are on a ranch only exercising and resting, but we're only shorting ourselves of a healthier future. Idk. Disagree if you must, but it's just how I feel.

Tonight since I'm not allowed to exercise because of said taper, I will get a mani/pedi and have dinner w a friend. It's funny how my calories are totally in chk and I'm still itching to work out.

Next 'run' is allowed Thursday but most likely I will do spin bike or elliptical combo... not worth injuring the shins/knee etc before Sunday.

Ramon said no yoga, no massages, no weights, no exercise and concentrate on spending time off your feet. Seriously? This is practically bed rest. I know it's extreme so that we do most of it, but still.

taper part deux

28 minutes at the gym. all i did was stretch on the technogym posterior and anterior stretching machines, 2 sets of 10 lunges on each side and pigeon pose for 4 min on each side.

taper is boring. bagels and cupcakes make fat on me if i keep this up!!

the wkd

Friday was my last run before the marathon. I decided early on that I wouldnt run until the day of- worked for me when I took 2 weeks off during Puerto Rico and had a stellar 21 mile run after that rest.

Friday I left work as usual around 530 and headed out for what was meant to be a 6-8 mile run. I wasn't in the mood at all, but that wasn't a problem. I wore my Asics which originally gave me the knee issue (imho anyway) and as soon as I hit the loop I was convinced they were the devil. My shins were killing me on both legs. I ran up to the reservoir, stretched big time, and only made it around once before decidign it was best to stop and take the bus home.

I felt defeated.

I mean it's the end. It's crunch time. It's wahtever you want to call it, but what it's not is time to be hurting and be tired and be injured. I almost burst into tears on the bust but tried to remember that I have to trust the training and that all I can do at this point is rest up and do my very best.

This weekend I did my leg rehab at the gym on Saturday am (my fave is am wkd workouts) and did take it easier than I would normally- which was clutch for me. Equinox also has this amazing stretching machine (2 actually). One is for your hamstrings and one is for your quads. AMAZING. I tried to find a picture but the returns for "amazing stretch machine" from google were pretty amusing, and way off point. I'll look tonight at what brand they are. Sunday I did intermediate yoga down the shore and got my butt kicked. Headstands are hard! I tweaked my back, but I should be OK by this weekend. Goes to show what taper really means!

Drove most of the race course in Long Branch and explored the hotel. I'm feeling a lot better (read: less anxious) so that is nice. It's flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. YES!