Only 2 More Days!

You can feel it in the air. Boston has gone crazy with marathon madness. Signs are all over the city, people are wearing their official Boston Marathon jackets, and the streets are populated with out-of-towners who have come to run the Marathon. Thousands of people gathered at the Hynes Convention Center today for the Boston Marathon expo to pick up their bib numbers and check out the hundreds of running, nutrition, and athletic vendors. I was amazed by how many people and organizations are involved in putting on this event. I got free samples of sports bars, GU packets, and running information. I even bought a shirt that says "I love Heartbreak Hill...Boston Marathon 2010". I think it would be more accurate to if it said I survived heartbreak hill, but I won't be able to claim that right until Monday.

I got through the 20 twenty mile run last month and have since been tapering off. I was in a lot of pain by the end of it, so I have been stretching and icing my IT bands more often. The pain is now in both legs, but I won't let that stop me from finishing on Monday.

I have now completed my $1000 fundraising goal for childhood obesity research at Tufts. Thank you for all who were able to donate! Even if you couldn't donate money, I appreciate the support and well wishes! I have said before, running a marathon is as much of a mental challenge as it is a physical challenge. Our coach sent us this quote today which resonated well with how I have felt through my training. It is from the sister of a Harvard runner.

"You pretended the snooze button didn't exist. You dragged your butt out of bed while others slept. While others ate their pancakes. You had a feast of protein, glucose and electrolytes. You double-knotted. You left the porch light on and locked the door behind you. You ran. 5Ks, 10Ks, 26.2 miles. Some days more, some days less. You rewarded a long run with a short run. And a short run with a long run. Rain tried to slow you. Sun tried to microwave you. Snow made
you feel like a warrior. You cramped. You bonked. You paid no mind to comfort. On weekends. On holidays. You made excuses to keep going. Questioned yourself. Played mind games. Put your heart before your knees. Listened to your breathing. Sweat sunscreen into your eyes. Worked on your farmer's tan. You went through barriers. You decided to be a man about it. You decided to be a woman about it. Finished what you started. Proved what you were made of.
Just kept putting mile after mile on your internal odometer. YOU RAN."

I have done the early mornings, ran through the snow, rain, and slush of winter, pushed through the pain from my IT bands, and am ready to take this thing on. So much has built up to this day and I am thrilled for Monday to arrive. I will leave my house at 5 am to catch the bus at Tufts by 6:15. The bus will take us into Boston where over 28,000 runners we will get on the B.A.A. buses to head out to the start of the marathon in Hopkinton.

Thank you for reading this through my ups and downs over the last few months. If you would like to track my progress on Monday, you can text the following to receive updates.

Text RUNNER to 31901

Then text 26803 once they text you back.

You can do this now and receive updates on my status during the marathon. They will send you a text when I complete the 10K, half, 30K, and the finish. We wear a tracker on our shoe laces so our friends and family can receive this information.

Tomorrow, we have a pasta dinner at Tufts to stock up on carbs and energy to help us through the marathon. It's unfortunate that carbo-loading isn't an essential part of pageant preparation. Can you imagine, being told to load up on carbs the night before in order to look better in your swimsuit? That would be too much fun.

The pictures above are from the 20 mile run last month. I will hopefully have lots of fun pictures to share after Monday! Two more days...