WE DID IT!

You know what?

WE DID IT!

packin'

Getting everything together to head to Madison. Updated ipod and now charging.
No turning back now!

Last run!

Just completed my last pre-race run, which I extended from 30 to 33 minutes because "Carryout" came on the radio. I ran towards the Obama household because an announcer said they arrived last night, but I didn't see anyone other than various armed police officers. It was nice of them to come home to say good luck and farewell to us.

t.

J-Chip Timing TEXTS!

Friends and family can sign up here to have a text message sent about your race progress and finish in real time! Awesome!

HOLY HEAT

Did you happen to check the weather lately????? I thought the heat was supposed to break..... Uhhhh... NA!

As of today the temp for Sunday is low of 64* and a high of 86*!

Sllllow and low

I've allowed myself to sleep in each day this week until 7:00--a transition from the 5:30 runs I grew used to. I ran 30 minutes today and 30 on Monday (skipped yesterday altogether), approximately 3 miles each time. The dogwood trees (?) were in full pollination this morning at Harold Washington Park. It looked beautiful and snowy. And then some got into my mouth, causing a coughing spell. Nature!

GOT....?

Got Shirt--check
Got Shorts-- check
Got the will, nerve, drive-- check, check and CHECK!

1 WEEK!

Need I remind you? No, I need not!

80 minutes = 8.73 miles
Ghetto superstar!

70 minutes = 7.93 miles
Rockin' it like a hurricane.

60 minutes

60 minutes = 6.86 miles
I don't feel like barfing! Irish oatmeal is bubbling away on the stove and I'm gonna eat!

Also, since February 28, when I ventured out with this lil' Nike+ chip in my shoe, I have run 188 miles. Holy smokes!

O.M.G.

Check it! You know where we will be after running 13.1 miles? Shoving brats in our gullets:
http://www.bratfest.com/

Sometimes I suck because I am too lazy to run. Boo.

t.

Oh yes, and hello chafing!

It can't go unnoted that I have experienced my first real chafing tonight as well! Armpits and inner thighs will get a nice dose of Vaseline. I think this means I'm a real runner!

Better late than never?

After a 3 hour nap, I had a 1.5 hour run (without stopping!). I have no idea how long it was, but I'm guessing 8 miles maybe? I haven't had a good long run yet that coincided with a strong and steady pace, until tonight! The last three miles I ran facing west, and I looked up and saw a crazy beautiful rainbow in the sky. It wasn't raining here today, so I figured it must have been Lauryn telling me to get my butt in gear and use the last two weeks for training! (Or just to enjoy the run and the process that will lead up to our main event in two weeks!)

I'm definitely feeling nervous. I know I can run half of it, and after that it will all just be a grand surprise!

Happy trails!

After a couple prolonged tantrums--both from a loving two year old and his mother--I begged baby's daddy to come home from school an hour early yesterday so that I could run. And he did. And I did. And what a difference a run can make. My energy increased and I felt more peace than I had hours earlier. I ran for 36 of my intended 45 minutes, stopping early because I saw a friend and her children and wanted to walk home with them.

Tomorrow I will go to Madison and hope to see the route of the race. I'm packing my shoes. And short shorts.

t.

Anxiety Dreams

Have you started having anxiety dreams about the race? Last night I dreamt that race day had arrived and I had forgotten to distribute the shirts. Doi.

Currently waiting for our building's water service to resume so that I can shower off the sweat from this morning's treadmill run. My knee is achy. I am stinky.

so i love this new exercise machine at the club... it is a cross between a treadmill, stair stepper and elliptical! i cant wait to go back today to jump on it for awhile, since i am not going to go out in the rain to run.
im telling you, i am going to be in the best shape by the time i turn 40!
feeling inspired.

No new insight here--just a reminder that our race is less than 3 weeks away!

5.42 mile run this morning and now to the bath before anyone else wakes up in this house.

Gettin' Hammered!

An equation:

2 year old kicking me in the head because he had bad dreams and was moved to mom and dad's room

+law school husband who eats loud chips after midnight in an attempt to stay awake while reading

+a lovely cat who decides 3:30 A.M. is a good time for barfing all over the house

=my life

On my run today I tried half a pack of raspberry flavored Hammer Gel which lists "Long Chained Maltodextrin" as its top ingredient. Was it good? No. Did hit help me run longer or harder? No. Actually, I had to stop to drink it and then walked to the nearest water fountain for further hydration. A 6.5 mile day, all told.

The shirts arrived to me printed and ready for wear. They are so beautiful and perfect.

t.

Really MTV? Really?

So there's a wizard over at MTV that decided to play the following three videos in immediate succession this morning, as soon as I stepped on the treadmill at the gym:

Sky Ferreria's "17"
Jay-Z's "Forever Young"
Florence and the Machine's "Dog Days Are Over"

Say wha'?! Needless to say, all thoughts, as always, were with and of Lauryn.

the birds head is stuck!

It is sometimes impossible to get a good run in. I am finding more and more things lately that hinder my training!


So I just get warmed up running a nice wooded trail near my house that even has a nice scenic reserve with a boardwalk! With wonderful smelling lillies of the valley in the breeze....when I get the call (Mariah) "Mom one of the birds is stuck under the computer desk!" Me "why is the bird out??!" Riah "I let it out on accident! Mom! It's head is stuck and I am scared (with heavy sobs). So much for this run!
The bird was safe and unstuck by the time I made it home. Mariah on the other hand was not!


Oh yeah quick note, we got two parakeets that Sidney fell in love with at one of Addisons friends houses and they gave them to us. I have to find the supply of crazy pills that the kids keep slipping me.

Going to try again today....

5 Month Marker

Today marks the 5 month anniversary of Lauryn, Steven, and Shanna's passing. The longest months I've lived. And it's heartbreaking. And every time I have to explain this accident--have to explain the loss of my sister to someone who hasn't yet heard--I'm so hurt. And I try to live each day with her memory and spirit in my movements and thoughts because the alternative is that I let the grief crush me. And it may. It still may. Because it isn't fair that I have to live the rest of my life without my little sister. It isn't fair that I don't get to talk to her and watch her graduate from high school and get to go shopping with her for all that stupid college stuff that Target and Bed, Bath, & Beyond put on lists of "Dorm Room Essentials" and I don't get to lecture her about the perils of underage drinking and what douches college aged guys can be ('tis true). And I'm so very sad that she is gone.