Let the great carbo load of 2008 begin!

So, the time has come, kids. A little over 72 hours until the marathon. Now comes the time when I fuel up with lots of good carbs like oatmeal and whole wheat tortillas and so on and so forth. I plan on eating a banana wrapped in a tortilla smothered in oatmeal this very evening. Just kidding.

But on a serious note, chillins, electrolytes electrolytes electrolytes. I can't emphasize that enough. *cough* *electrolytes* Drink the gatorade, hydrate yaselves, stretch dem muscles, and get ready for an amazing day on Saturday!

P.S. I'd stay away from dairy as it has a lot of lactose, which leads to lactic acid buildup, which causes the muscles to be sore.

just in case you forgot....

we're running a marathon in 5 days! I really can't believe it. On Saturday, as I was running my five miles, I was thinking: next week I'll be running 21.2 more of these... and then I'm going to have a Coke because two months ago, Dave and I swore off soda until after the race. I can't wait. Yesterday at church, our Sunday School teacher was asking us about hard things we'd accomplished and what helped us get through them. As I shared with the class, here are my motivating factors for finishing the marathon:

1. The shame of not finishing

2. The aforementioned tall glass of ice-cold Coke awaiting me afterward

3. The six months of training behind me

4. Being able to check "run a marathon" off my life's To Do list

Written at the top of the training schedule: At first glance, the task may seem insurmountable but experience and research shows the body, given proper rest, has the capacity to adapt quickly.

Isn't it amazing what a combo of the human body and spirit is capable of?? A marathon = a miracle, in my opinion.

See ya'll Saturday!

Next Adventure

So, I am thinking about running the Sedona Marathon on Feb. 7, 2009. I checked out the website and it looks like it will be a very scenic run. I know I just finished the 1/2 marathon, but I feel like I need to be training for something else. Greg thinks I am crazy, but for some reason I have been on a high ever since I finished the race. It has been great to see all my hard work payoff.

I will be thinking of you marathoners next week. Good luck with the race!

down in flames

I don't want to admit this to Lacy but I don't think I can run the marathon with her next week. You see last weekend I was doing sprints as part of a physical training session with my Reserves unit and if I didn't pull me freakin' hamstring. The bad boy went "pop!" and I went "oh crap!" I've been limping around for five days now and there is no relief in sight. So, Lacy my love, I will be there in spirit but this guy probably won't be able to run. I hate for you to find out this way, but I didn't have the guts to tell you over dinner.

Whiskey Row Marathon

Well, we did it! Lacy and I successfully finished the WR 1/2 marathon. We did not find out until the night before that the first 6 and 1/2 miles were uphill. This first half of the race was brutal, but as you can imagine, the second half was great since it was mostly downhill. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect, sunny and cool once we actually started running. The town of Prescott is so quaint and friendly, I am definitely returning next year (maybe for the full marathon). The food after the race was delicious and we were both starving. It was a great experience and Lacy and I had tons of fun catching up.

Good luck to all of you on the upcoming SLC marathon! I cannot wait to hear about it.

The Half

Lacy reminded me that I totally missed reporting the events of the SLC half marathon. I may be banished from this blog though, seeing how I have only ran 2 miles since the race.

When my and my sister reached the 3 mile mark of our race, we just looked at each other and laughed since most of our family and friends were participating in the 5K. I have to be honest in saying that I hestitated to even post anything, since most of you run 13 miles on a regular basis. I guess you can laugh thinking of me the next time you run this distance.

Besides the gospel choir at the beginning and the cobblestone path through gateway at the end, I give a pretty good rating to the SLC race. The first 8 miles were a gradual downhill through residential neighborhoods. Thankfully, I didn't have to use the port-a-potty during the race and besides walking through the water stations, we didn't stop! That was my main goal. Our time was 2 hours and 20 minutes, which actually surprised our family. My joints were sore the next 2 days since the farthest I had ran before the race was 9 miles. I didn't train as I probably should have.

After doing the race, I am really glad because I pushed myself farther than I ever thought I would. However, I don't know if I am addicted to the long races. Do any of you think that you will do another half or full afterwards? My sister (on the left) is convinced that she will, but I'm not so sure.

more foot trouble

So last Saturday I taped a blister area I'd recently picked at (this is such a dumb thing to do, I know (the picking, not the taping), but I literally can't help myself). I think I taped it too tight because after the 20 miles I had a blister the size of a peanut there, which I could feel toward the end of the run, which I think then made me run weird and now my foot really hurts. Along the top arc from my big toe to all across my foot, it feels like I've fractured my bone. I hope I haven't, though. Because if after all this training I can't run the big one, I'll really be T.O.ed.

I'm treating myself to an early mother's day gift and getting a new pair of running shoes before I pick up Erin on our way out to Prescott for the Whiskey Row! Is it wise to run a half-marathon in brand-spanking-new shoes?? I'll be sure to let you know.