FIVE days until the marathon!

Okay, I admit it--I'm getting a little nervous about this marathon business! I can't believe that after seven months of training, it's now only five days away. Scary!! I'm ready though. Last week I was busy, but I ran 4 miles at the gym on Wednesday and also on Thursday. Both nights there was a guy running next to me who was training for his next triathlon. I told him I was running my first marathon soon and he suggested that maybe I'd participate in a triathlon next--ha! No way! One marathon is enough for this girl. There are other things on my list that I need to conquer next!

Since I'm tapering my mileage now, I don't have to run as far. This week's mileage is 3-4-2. I didn't run this weekend; Abdul and I went camping in Sequoia National Park. We went on a nice hike, though, to a waterfall:


Gosh, there's more I could write in this blog entry, but just thinking and writing about the marathon is making me all verklempt. I need to keep my nerves at bay so I'm fully prepared for Sunday. I'll post at least one more time before the big day...yikes!

Even More Thanks: My co-worker, Marci, and my friend, Nicole B., recently donated towards The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on my fundraising Web page. You ladies are both awesome! I've far surpassed my fundraising goal now!

Up, Up, and Away!

On Saturday morning I crawled out of bed at 5am and started to run to Diana's house at 5:15am. Crazy! As soon as I walked down the stairs of my condo and turned onto my street, I was confronted with a coyote walking towards me on his early morning stroll. Luckily, as soon as he saw me, he ran between the cars on the side of the street. I was a little nervous to run by him, but I knew he was more scared of me than I was of him. It was so eerie to run so early in the morning--it was still dark and here was no one out and about. No traffic. No other runners. I arrived at Diana's at about 5:40am and we ran 8 miles together with her son, Cameron, in the baby jogger. Afterwards I ran home for a total of 13 miles. This was my last run over 8 miles before my marathon.

On Sunday instead of running, I went flying! I surprised Abdul with a hot air balloon ride birthday present and so we floated through the coastal valleys near Del Mar right before sunset. We loved it and had so much fun! Here's a picture of us as our balloon is inflated:

Two weeks until race day!

Oh geesh, it's been way too long since I posted anything. The reason for my hiatus: I had nothing to post. After my 20 mile run I took 1 1/2 weeks off from running. Not sure if that was the best idea, but I'm also not sure if there was much of a way around that. First, I was super busy with teaching and grading papers and my real job and then I went to Ohio for a long weekend for a volunteers’ conference at my undergraduate alma mater (BGSU) and to surprise my mother and grandmothers for Mother's Day. I could have gone running in Ohio, but instead I chilled out with my family and enjoyed just being with them and being away from work and everything hectic in California. Here's a picture of me, my sister, my mom, and her mom (my Grammy):

And not to leave out my dad's mom, here's a picture of me, my brother, my sister, and my Grandma:

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, Grammy, and Grandma! I love you all so much!

I taught my last class of the semester at CSULB this past Tuesday and finally got back into my running shoes on Wednesday. I ran 8 miles then and 5 miles on Thursday. Tomorrow I'm going to put in 12 miles (8 of those will most likely be with Diana). Sunday marks the beginning of the official two week countdown until the big race day! I've been training for seven months now; it's hard to believe the race is now only two weeks away!

Extra Giant Big Thanks: HUGE thanks goes out to my company, OfficeMate Software Solutions, who very generously donated $250 towards my fundraising campaign for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Amazing! I'm so lucky to work for a company that cares so much about the efforts and causes of its employees. Special thanks goes out to Ed, my CEO:-) Also, additional thanks goes to Kara, my dear friend who lives in Seattle; my wonderful mother; and Mary Ann, one of my Book Club friends, who donated these past two weeks. I have now surpassed my fundraising goal of $500 by 38%. You all are awesome!!

This blog entry is brought to you by the number 20.

Yup, people, I ran TWENTY, as in 2-0, miles on Saturday. I was only supposed to run 18 miles and then run 20 miles in two weeks, but on Friday I realized that I'm off one week on my training schedule and since the marathon is now only four weeks away, I wasn't going to be able to put in another super long run. So, I ran my last long mileage run before the marathon. Now it's time to taper my mileage in preparation for the big 26.2 on June 3.

When I ran 20 miles on Saturday, I woke up before the crack of dawn and left my house at 5:38am. I ran 4 miles to Diana's house and then she and I ran 8 miles together. I stopped at her house and drank a bottle of water and ate a PowerGel. Then I ran 8 miles in a very round about way through Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, and Aliso Viejo to get home. The last four miles were tough--my legs were sore and my pace was slower, but I was done running by 9:18am and I realized that 1) I can run a marathon and 2) I will finish the marathon under my goal time of 4:59:59 (I basically just want to finish in the fourth hour). I anticipate my final time will be between 4:30 and 4:45. When I finished the 20 mile run, my legs were sore, but they felt fine by the end of the day. So, I also know that not only can I run a marathon, but it won't kill me and incapacitate me for days afterward (which is good, because I have to work the day after it).

This week I'm running a 10 miler on Wednesday and a 5 miler on Thursday. Diana might run with me again. Sadly (for me, at least), Megan made the move up to the Bay Area last weekend and so I know longer have her to run with. Diana, though, is awesome to run with and the time (and miles) fly by when I run with her.

Weighing In

Since I started training for this marathon, a lot of people have asked me if I've lost much weight. My answer: No. Maybe I've lost a pound or two, but that's it. I don't own a scale so I rarely weigh myself, but Abdul does have a scale and when I do step on it, I don't see a change in the number staring back up at me. My friend, Katie, told me that she read that if you're training to run a marathon, don't plan on losing weight. And after a little Internet research myself, I found that most people don't lose weight while they're training (unless, maybe they were overweight to begin with, I guess). When I tell people that I haven't really lost any weight, despite the many miles I've run since October 2006, they seem a bit perplexed. My response is that I certainly have gained a lot of muscles in the lower part of my body, and I've probably lost some fat in the process, but my overall weight hasn't changed. I guess my body is at the weight that it's supposed to be to support me.

Last Saturday I ran 12 miles--8 of those were with Diana. I couldn't run on Tuesday because I had to teach, but on Wednesday I went out for a 9.5 mile run around Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills, and Mission Viejo. I felt really good during the run, especially at the end. Last night I ran an easy 5 miles around Laguna Niguel and the Regional Park. Today is a rest day. Abdul's birthday is Sunday and so we're beginning the birthday celebrations tonight. The plans are a surprise so he doesn't know yet where I'm taking him! Tomorrow morning I'm waking up super early to meet Diana for a run. I have to run a total of 18 miles and 8 of those will be with her.