Some VCM photos... Post to follow (but I ran a 3:25:58)

 Mile 10, feeling great

At the finish, exhausted but happy

Be grateful for your presence at the starting line. The ability to stand with your fellow runners in that quiet, solitary time before the gun goes off requires weeks of hard training, pure luck, good health, the support of family and friends, and an internal fire that fuels your body for an activity that evolution has prepared it to do over tens of thousands of years.

May 22 - 28

Sun - 9 miles at tempo - a little tiredness/soreness in hip but otherwise felt great
Mon - 0 miles, had dinner with colleagues
Tue - 5.5 miles lunch break - only meant to do 3, I don't know what happened
Wed - 5 miles lunchbreak, again, don't know what happened, have to stop trying to taper on beautiful days with charismatic people
Thur - 0 miles, I think I'm done until the marathon as my legs were feeling sore yesterday. I can't sleep I'm so excited/ anxious.
Fri -
Sat -
Total: 19.5

Marathon Thoughts

The marathon is now only a week away, so it's a lot of what I think about these days. Ever since I got back from my trip in Central America I've been worried about the marathon. My training had to take the back burner while I was traveling, and I had to take a week off due to sickness prior to leaving for my trip. I have been really focusing on these incidents when thinking about the marathon. I realized yesterday, during a beautiful lunchtime run with Dave, that what I should really be focusing on are all of the miles that I have logged this winter/ spring, all of the great workouts I've had, and how much running is a part of my life. I know how to run, I run a lot, I love to run. I was running along the Charles alone the other day, taking it easy and trying to gauge how my hip was feeling, and I ran past a man who was out of breath. I don't think he liked the idea of a woman passing him, so he tried to stay with me for a little while. He was huffing and puffing and finally, through his breathing, he said, "you run with ease!" I need to start to focus on all of the reasons why my marathon should go well. Training has been a journey - through good days, bad days, sickness, health, elation, and depression, and the marathon itself is going to be a journey. More than anything, training has been fun, and I really hope that the way I run the marathon next Sunday will reflect the joy that I take from running. I am prepared for it, whatever happens. This final week I want to do some easy runs, stay loose, stay focused, stay positive, and get psyched up for next weekend.

3 x 1600 on a rainy day

Objective: 4 x 1600 at threshold pace

Recovery: 1:00

Results: 6:24 / 6:30 / 6:34

Overview: I was not happy at the end of this workout. My right hip and knee have been bothering me, and going into the third repeat I was really feeling it and thought about stopping after 800 meters. I finished the repeat, but my progressively slower times and the pain in my hip left me feeling depressed. The feeling of elation that sometimes follows my track workouts was not there. The marathon is in a week and a half, and I really don't want to be injured for the marathon. I guess, at this point, less is more, and I should really just concentrate on making sure I'm pain-free on marathon day. Advice, anyone?

May 15 - 21

Sun - 10 miles - my right hip and knee were hurting
Mon - 0 miles, ate cookies
Tue - 7 miles with track workout
Wed - 5 miles lunchbreak - hip hurting but ok
Thur - 0 miles
Fri - 3.5 miles with Dave - great pep-talk, feeling better about my running abilities (I've been kind of freaking out about the marathon lately)
Sat - 4 miles - there was a round yellow thing in the sky which appeared to be giving off light and heat (joke stolen from the guy behind me at the sandwich shop)
Total: 29.5

May 8 - 14

Sun - 0 miles, spent most of the day in airports and airplanes
Mon - 6 miles after work - sore from flying
Tue - 5.3 miles lunchbreak
Wed - 6 miles lunchbreak
Thur - 0 miles, sore and tired and really lethargic
Fri - 6.1 miles lunchbreak at average 7.38 pace with luke and dave
Sat - 6 miles easy
Total: 29.4 miles

Not many miles for the week, but I don't want to talk about it.

May 1 - 7

Sun - 7 miles am, 8 miles pm, total 15 miles on the treadmill
Mon - 4 miles am treadmill
Tue - 3 miles - planned to do more but was so tired from being out in the hot hot sun all day
Wed - 8 miles total
Thur - 0 miles, took a walk on the beach instead and saw a double rainbow
Fri - about 4 miles on the streets of Costa Rica
Sat - 7 miles through the Costa Rican countryside - got caught in a tropical rainstorm, almost got taken out by a couple of trucks, was afraid of attack by stray dogs, and dealt with lots of strange looks/ taunting comments, but I prevailed
Total: 41