Three Weeks Left

My marathon is on Dec 11. That's 3 weeks from now. I'm not sure if the weeks will fly by or be really long.

Saturday's practice was really long. It was a 20 mile day. I'm still in shock that I continously ran/walked 20 miles. If I had done one more loop that day, it would've been the full marathon distance. I was hurting though. My knee - which I did have looked at - was screaming at me by the end of practice. And it wasn't saying very nice things either :-| However, I finished. There were a few low points and I'm glad I had team mates finishing with me. Coach Josh met us at the last 2-ish mile mark and 'escorted' us to the end on his bike. No one talked much but the moral support does a world of difference.

Practices are tough on the long stretches. The marathon will be different. There will be people every mile or two either simply cheering us on or at aid stations with water. That doesn't sound like much until you've been out there for hours with no one around. Having spectators, coaches, mentors and volunteers cheering on the sidelines gives you energy.

Wow. Three weeks.............

...I keep on going

(see post below for the beginning of this one)

I ran my race yesterday. The knee wasn't happy after the first mile but I worked with it. Official results: 1:20:02 - a personal best :) (Race Results) Not bad considering I started training in August of this year.

The race was fun. There were several thousand runners for the 10k. The most unusual thing of the day was the man running in a very blond curly wig complete with headband of some sort, carrying a wand or septre and wearing nothing else except a black thong. Eeeekk! Glad we only saw him from behind.

The knee is still not happy with me. Four more weeks for it to hold out until my marathon. Back to my ice pack.......

When your body says stop.....

In 3 hours I'm to run in the Phoenix New Times 10k. I've been looking forward to this since the half marathon 2 weeks ago. My knee however are not so happy with me. Since the Saturday I was pulled from practice, my knee has not been cooperating with me. I am going this morning armed with my knee band. Let's hope it makes a difference.

Bitter or Learned from Experience?

During a discussion with a friend last night, he said I'm bitter - particularly about dating/relationships. Earlier he said I was too negative. So, I started thinking...am I?

I know there are times I sound negative, and when talking about my own relationships, that's just part of the defense I created for myself. Sure, I've had my share of shitty ones and my share of rejection. I was very bitter for a while. You know what, I'm not 100% 'cured' however I've realized there are times he is just not that in to me. I'm learning to recognize the signs. It goes both ways -- sometimes she's just not that into him.

I've decided I'm not bitter. Well, not all the time. Know what I am bitter about? I'm bitter when a guy is interested in me just for sex. However, it doesn't last long, it's not worth my energy anymore.

This all started when asked for my thoughts. I look back on the advice my closest friends tried to give me. Sometimes they were right on, sometimes they weren't. I sometimes listened, I sometimes didn't. I'd get annoyed at times. I know now they just were giving their 2 cents and being there for me. And I'm glad -- I learned alot from them even if it wasn't at that moment.

Five weeks till my marathon!

Wow. Only 5 weeks of training left. I've come a long way since Aug 6. I can actually run 3 miles straight; each week I'm able to push myself a little more; I can walk up the stairs without huffing & puffing!; the clothes are fitting better. It's been good - a few rough days but good :)

Last Saturday's practice was to be 18 miles. Coach Eric pulled me after 12 because my knee hurt and I wasn't hiding it well. Plus Laurie ratted me out...it was a good thing she did. I'm to the point now where I was bummed I couldn't finish the run. I'm supposed to take it easy this week so I can do the 20 mile run on the 19th.

This weekend I'm in the New Times 10k. A 10k is 6.2 miles - doesn't seem like much after our training sessions and the YMCA Half. It will be fun though to participate in a bigger race (this one attracts several thousand). Plus the coaches have told us to push ourselves a little more for the 6.2 and see what we can do. It's going to be interesting......