I'm back?

It's been a long time since I last blogged - I am going to try to get back at it because I found that I felt better when I could put "pencil to paper" and express my thoughts.  Of course all this could be accomplished in a personal diary but I never keep up with that because there is no accountability!

I last blogged about my marathon experience in Memphis.  I am STILL to this day reflecting on that experience and what went right and wrong, what I could have done better to have a more successful marathon.  Quite frankly, I probably wasn't well enough hydrated and didn't eat well enough in the days ahead of the marathon.  Readers of my blog know of my struggles with fueling during runs - I had tried starlight peppermints during training and they seemed to be sufficient.

However, with the heat and humidity in Memphis I was sweating more and I think my body needed some electrolytes.  Late in the race when I was walking I started taking Gatorade because I figured I had nothing to lose!  It turned my stomach, but I did eventually feel better.  I stopped sweating at about mile 20.  When the going got tough I chickened out.  I failed to put the children I was running for at the forefront of my mind - I couldn't look past my own pain and I think thats what I am still most upset about.  Someday I will go back to Memphis and run the marathon again as redemption.  I may not run it faster, but I want to run with more purpose - after all, that's what the St Jude Marathon is all about!

Now that I have tied that up - let me summarize whats been going on in my life since:

1.  I have gained weight.  I am NOT happy about it.  I put on quite a bit of weight after the marathon and I haven't been able to get it back off.  I lost motivation somewhere along the way and have been eating like crap for months.  Hoping this entry can signify a "new day" and motivate me to make the right choices.

2.  In January, my husband got notice that his office was closing at the end of May.  It seemed like the only options were to relocate to California (no thanks!) or find a new job - we were really worried until someone mentioned that he should get an offer to "telecommute."  That took some stress off,  but we still had to wait for the official offer and then of course there was the debate after we got it of whether it was the right decision for my husband career wise.  In the long run, we decided to stick it out here in Ft Wayne with the telecommute option.  He will work part of his time from home and part time at a co-working office downtown.

3.  We booked out hotel for a trip to Disney in January of 2014 - we will be staying in a 2 bedroom villa in Kidani at Animal Kingdom Lodge for just over a week.  We were super excited and we are struggling to keep this a secret from the kids but we decided unless we want to go crazy with the "is it time to go to Disney yet" we need to wait!  Right now the plan is to tell them at Christmas - we bought each of them a disney  themed suitcase.  Inside we will wrap some other Disney goodies as well as a paper chain countdown for them.  It should be great fun - can't wait to see how they react.  They do know we are saving for a trip to Disney so it wont be a complete shock, but hopefully they will still be surprise.

4.  Girl scout cookie sales - Natalie busted her butt this cookie season (and so did I).  We worked a ton of booths and she sold I think over 900 boxes!  I was the cookie cupboard Mom so it kept me pretty busy for about two weeks.

5. After a few quite months we got the bad news that my daughter needed major dental work - to the tune of $2000 out of pocket!  Luckily, I decided to shop around and found a highly recommended pediatric dentist that would do the work for less than $750 out of pocket!  *phew*  Crisis averted!   All dental work is done and she was a trooper!

6.  Just after we found out about the dentist, my daughter's dog started acting very sick.  He was throwing up a clear bubbly substance, had a distended tummy, wouldn't eat and got very listless but restless at the same time.  Of course, this happened late at night so we resolved to just keep an eye on him and take him to the vet in the morning.  Then he threw up blood and was acting like he was basically on his death bed and I knew I couldn't wait - a search of google had me concerned he might have bloat.  $300 later we had ruled out bloat, re-hydrated a VERY dehydrated dog (at only 7 lbs he doesn't have much room for error), and given him anti-nausea meds but were no closer to an answer.  He started throwing up not 8 hours later so we were at my regular vet as soon as they opened.  They did several blood tests to rule out the obvious causes, then an x-ray, followed by a barium series x-ray.  The barium series was "abnormal" so he was taken in for exploratory surgery.   I am so thankful they were proactive because they found what looked like a small peach pit in his intestines.  It was stuck and his intestines were so thin that they could have ruptured at any point.  So, $900 more to my regular vet, but at least we have a healthy happy dog to show for it.  I joked with my husband that he better live for quite a few years to pay off the debt!

7.  Before the dentist and dog issues Disney announced the Dopey Challenge (48.6 miles in 4 days - 5k, 10k, half, marathon).  I started out swearing at Disney for ruining my families plans to run the 5k together.  As time went on I thought more and more about it and decided I was going to somehow make it work.  So, I took the plunge and signed up for Dopey and signed my hubby and kids up for the 5k.  Thank you Disney for taking way too much of my money.  I don't plan to really run the events.  I will do a "run/walk" combo and just try to FINISH!

8.  My little girl turned SIX!  Isn't she beautiful?  I had fun taking her pictures, although there are lots of squinty eyes - she seems to be very sensitive to the sun!

9.  Art themed birthday party for 16 kiddos in my house - success!  The kids had cake/ice cream, popcorn, and rainbow goldfish.  All while painting a plaster animal, a 8x10 canvas, and making fruit loop necklaces.  They were sent home with a goody bag containing a collage kit, rice krispie paint brush, melted down muffin tin crayon, pencil, and a paint chip notepad! 

Sorry for the novel and update about things that are probably boring to you all, but wanted to get my last few months out on paper.    I will try to keep this blog a bit more updated going forward - if you dont hear from me in a week - email me and call me out! :)

Marathon Recap - Part 3?

**Disclaimer, HOLY CRAP have I been away for a while.  The holidays and a trip to Alabama kept me busy.   I am going to do the best I can to recap my actual marathon experience, but I know it will be lacking since it's been over a month.

Best way to start off the post, a random photo of my favorite little girl.  She was an awesome cheerleader rocking her St Jude tattoo, pom-poms in her hair and either a cow bell, pom-poms, or sign in her hands most of the day. 

I can't recall what time I woke up, but I do thank my Mom for keeping the kids the night before the marathon so I could rest well!  First up, breakfast - half a plain bagel, then shower/shaving legs, and getting dressed.  I spent alot of time anxiously pacing the room.  We met up with my Mom, sister, and kids in the lobby of the hotel where my mom gave me an awesome card (no pictures, it was a victim of my son).  After lots of hugs and some tears we headed out so that I could line up in my corral.

I headed to the corral 7 were I knew the 4:25 pace group would be.  After my training and talking to the pace group at the expo I figured this would be the best place for me.  I made small talk with the the other runners and laughed (internally) about the pacer in my group who was wearing a Goofy hat with a kitchen timer on the back... (it counted down from 4:25 as soon as we started the race... what a neat idea). It was warmer than I would have liked - mid 60s with humidity of near 75% but I knew there was no turning back now.

 

Like most races there was a staggered start, so I ended up crossing the start line 12 minutes after the first racers.  I started off easy as planned, my only goal was to stay with the pace group. There was about a mile (roughly 1.5-2.5) that we ran along the river PLUS it was mostly downhill - I really enjoyed that part! The only bad part is that we seemed to catch up the corral before us and it got pretty crowded for a while.  There was a short hill as we headed up towards Beale street.  It wasn't terribly long, but it was enough to get my attention - at this point the pace leaders said we had seen the worst hill of the day so I was feeling confident. Beale street was awesome, lots of spectators - although I will admit I was too busy trying to stay on pace and relax that I wasn't able to take it in.

Beale Street

5k: 31:12 (10:03 pace)

After Beale Street we headed towards the St Jude Campus (about 4.5-5 miles, very short distance).  While this was a very short stretch it was one of my favorite.  It was a great reminder of why we were running, it was very emotional to see all the patients and family out cheering for the runners.  I fought back tears the whole time, giving high-five to all the kids offering their hands.  I was sad to see this end, it surely didn't help that the next 3 miles were just straight down one road, I do terrible with long stretches like that.  Just before mile 8, we turned to head through Overton Park.  Somewhere around here I got ahead of my pace group - I was feeling pretty good and confident in how I was doing.

Just before exiting Overton Park

15k: 1:34:13 (10:09 pace)

As we exited Overton Park, the lack of cloud cover and heat/humidity started to have an affect on me.  I noticed running was requiring more effort and I just wasn't running as efficiently as I would have liked.  I feel like somewhere in here was the first time I saw ice cold towels being handed out to the runners - although I unfortunately missed them and didn't think to turn back and get one.  Leaving Overton Park, we were in for another 2 mile straight-away.  I kept reminding myself why I was running, and mentally prepping myself for the break-off of the half marathoners.  I knew this would be the point of no return and it scared me.  Luckily for me, my family was just after the split and it was great to see their faces, though at this point I was HOT and I had no clue how I was going to run another another 13+ miles.  They yelled out encouragement and it really helped, although it didn't alleviate the effects of the heat. 

Agonizing over the heat

13.1 miles: 2:11:59 (10:00 pace)

Then THIS happened...

Somewhere between mile 14 and 15 I started to feel it was just impossible to keep up with the pace group so I let myself walk.  My family stationed somewhere around mile 14.5  (?) and I must have looked terrible because my Mom asked me if I was going to quit.  I assured her that wasn't the plan and I got back on course and kept plugging away.  It was about that time that I pulled out my cell phone and made a post to facebook - this was probably a mistake, I was letting myself give in mentally and if I had it to do all over I would have left my phone in my pocket. I trudged on, walking for a while until the 4:40 pace group caught me (around mile 16.8). I tried to run with them for a while, but in the end I just couldn't cut it and had to let them go at around mile 19.  HUGE mental hit - but I kept doing what I had to do to get closer to the finish line. Run, walk, crawl.... I was going to FINISH.

19.6 miles: 3:38.27 (13:13 pace)

There were a total of 7 calls placed and two calls received on my cell during the marathon - thank goodness for my support crew.  Much of the miles after 15 or so are a blur.  I don't have much memory, the details here are a result of analyzing call logs and my garmin.  I do know it was around mile 18 or so that I realized that even though I was hot I wasn't actually sweating anymore. Sometime around mile 21 was a turning point of sorts, I couldn't possibly get any further from the finish line, so I knew it was "all downhill" from there on.   Somewhere in the last 6 miles I was able to pick up an ice cold towel.  I also took gatorade several times in the last 6 miles, again don't ask me when.  It upset my stomach nearly every time, but at that point I felt it was absolutely necessary to finish the race.

My mom called me at around mile 22.8 to "talk me in" to the finish like I had done for her at her last 5k.  I really needed it.  I wanted nothing more than to see my little girl (who was with my mom) and to have her run with me.  When I run with her it always feels so effortless.  I talked to my mom until about mile 24, or actually, she mostly talked and I mostly listened.  It was nearly impossible to breathe, talk, and walk all at the same time. 

Around mile 23.5 I started to get a "second wind" and by mile 24, Mom and I decided to get off the phone, I was going to try running and see how far I could get.  I ran most of the rest of the race with a few short walk breaks to collect myself.  The photos below were taken at about mile 25 as I ran past St Jude for the second time (you can see the Pyramid in the background of one and the Memphis Grizzlies House (I believe?) - its one of the places where the patients stay while being seen at the hospital.

I came across my mom and daughter at around mile 26 and I knew at that point I wanted Natalie (my daughter) to help me finish the race so I asked her to come out and run with me - luckily none of the race staff said anything about her running with me.  I ran with her right up until I entered the stadium.  At that point, she ran over to my sister and hubby while I ran inside the stadium with everything that I had.  It may not have been pretty - but I had finished a marathon! 

nearing the stadium

Finish: 5:14:39 (14:39 pace) - 12:01 avg pace overall
Garmin measured: 26.6 - 11:50 avg pace overall

It wasn't within the time goal I had in mind - I wanted to, at worst, finish sub 5.  But, it was way better than I envisioned when I signed up for the race.  I remember calculating the times and being worried I wouldn't be able to finish in the allowed time.  From the beginning it was supposed to be a race I ran/walked but as my training went on I realized I should be capable of more.  Unfortunately, December 1st just wasn't my day.

Analysis and post race thoughts/festivities will have to wait for another day, this is already a novel. 

Marathon Weekend Recap: Day 2

First, sorry its taken me a few days to get this up.  My daughter came home from school sick with double ear-infections yesterday and taking care of her has kept me pretty busy.   And again, I apologize in advance for rambling, this is very detailed because I want to remember the details of the weekend!

Day two, or Friday for future reference, was set to be a pretty laid back day.  My mom and sister were set to arrive from Alabama that morning.  My sister was going to stay with Tommy and the kids in the hotel and mom and I were going to go for a tour of St Jude.  After parking at the convention center, Mom and I walked across the street to the Marriott to wait for the tour bus to take us over.    

Mom and I with the box of cards - showing a sample 

Of course, we weren't empty handed, we were toting nearly 300 card for the kids of St Jude!  A month or so before I left for the marathon I decided I wanted to do something a bit more personal for the kids of St Jude.  After discussing it with my mom, the crazy idea was born.  She read somewhere that there were around 80-90 inpatient children and they see nearly 200 patients a day.  Our goal was to make cards for one day.  I managed to make 87 cards with the help of my daughter (she did 15 or so with my help).  Thanks to my mom's help (she made nearly 100), the help of several friends, and my daughter's girl scout troop we were able to surpass that goal.   

The tour of the hospital was emotional for my mom and I.  Having lost Tammie to a brain tumor we both found ourselves thinking "if only this had been around when Tammie was sick."  They have gone to great extremes to make the hospital a non-sterile looking environment.  From beautiful murals on the walls and fun decorative floors to patient artwork and photos around the hospital.  We heard all about the things they do at the hospital to make the kids feel more comfortable and at home.  I think we could have had a better tour guide but overall a very meaningful thing to get to be within the walls of a hospital that is making such great advances in the fight against childhood cancer.   I am going to share a few photos now, I may do another post I finish the race recap with some more of the photos.  

Santa house display - so neat!

murals on walls (showed all seasons) and  floor decor

After the hospital tour, Mom and I walked around the St. Jude campus looking at the statues and other "landmarks."  We also visited the gift shop to pick up a few items for my mom and I got another ornament!  (Will try to share a photo of the ornaments in my next post... too late tonight to go dig them out)

Instead of waiting for the bus we decided to walk back to the convention center (it was a short walk).  On the walk I showed my mom where her hotel was located and we decided to keep walking to my hotel.  Along the way we were on the search for a place to eat lunch.  We found a local place called Sam's Burgers and More that had baked potatoes so after much discussion we decided we would walk back down there to eat.  Unfortunately, by the time we got to my hotel and back down to the restaurant they only had one baked potato left and I ordered it for my sister not realizing it was the last one.  Whoops - so I ended up walking over to subway and getting a sub to eat instead (big no, no and NOT on my pre-race diet).  I did keep it pretty minimal but there was cheese on it which I typically avoid, but I couldn't just do the chicken and bread.

After lunch, we checked my Mom and sister into their hotel and left everyone there while she and I ran to Kroger to get munchies and drinks for the kids.   By the time we got back it was time for Tommy and I to get ready for the pasta party.  While getting ready I realized I had misplaced the pasta party tickets.  Luckily - after talking to some people we were able to get in without the tickets.

the only picture I took at the pasta party - whoops

The Heroes pasta party was a nice way to get ready for the race the next day.  I wish I was more outgoing as I felt sort of out of place sitting at a table with people I didn't know.  I didn't talk to anyone really because I lack that confidence, but the best part was hearing the speech given by Ingram's dad.  During my fundraising, I remember seeing Ingram's sister Madison at the top of the fundraising board nearly every time I logged in.  I was amazed that a little girl could raise so much money.  Come to find out, her sister was also fundraising.  These two girls, both still KIDS managed to raise over $200,000 - I am in awe of them!  I had read the family's story and such, but hearing Ingram's dad speak touched my heart.  After the pasta party, I had to stop back by my mom's hotel room to give my kids a huge hug.  I needed them to know that I loved them.  I needed to wrap my arms around them and thank God for the gift he has given me.

The only downside to the pasta party is that I had a very hard time eating.  I typically eat pasta with marinara sauce the night before a race, nothing else.  Unfortunately, the pasta options all had dairy or cream or some other ingredient I shouldn't have.  So, I had to "wing it" with a half a chicken breast, a bread stick, and a bag of pretzels.  While eating my food, I was praying it wouldn't negatively affect me the next day.  It was a bit defeating to see how many runners could eat whatever they wanted without concern for how it would affect their running - I hate my sensitive tummy!   They did have a nice plate of cookies on every table too, but again... I was good and avoided them!

All in all, Friday was a good day.  I might have done a bit more walking around than I normally would before a race, and perhaps not taken in enough water.  I did do my best to stick to my dietary restrictions but I knew I hadn't done a perfect job.  After giving my kids goodnight kisses (they stayed with my mom and sister to give me the best rest possible before the race), Tommy and I headed back to our hotel.  I took time to lay out everything I needed for the race, but was in bed pretty early.

Up next... race day.

In case you missed it, you can check out day one here... 

Marathon Weekend Trip Recap: Day 1 of 4

I figure its about time I try to start putting my thoughts on the marathon down on paper before they all disappear and I am left with nothing to document.  I still haven't totally processed the whole experience, but I am going to start with my pre-race experiences and hope everything catches up with me as I go!

Warning, I ramble... A LOT.  Sorry.

We left Indiana EARLY Thursday morning, about 4 am and hit the road for Memphis.  Our travels took us through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and finally Tennessee.  The last few hours of our trip were through a pretty deserted area (at least for us, we are used to driving down highways and having gas/food options at nearly every exit).  The trip was rather uneventful and we made great time.

We stopped in Blythesville, Arkansas for lunch.   I had decided we would get cold cuts and make sandwiches hoping to stick as close as possible to my dietary plan to ensure my stomach cooperated for the marathon.  Fast food is NOT part of that plan, though it would have been easier.  We stopped at Wal-Mart where I was rewarded with the slowest, crappiest customer service ever - and the lunch meat was terrible.  I ate what I could, but because of this I ended up eating more tortilla chips than I intended. (side note: I like the Tostitos Artisan Recipe fire roasted chipotle chips, but Meijer's black bean and salsa ones are SO much better!)

I hate bridges, but was relieved to see this one - less than 10 minutes left!

We knew we were ahead of schedule so we called our hotel to ask if we could check in early - luckily they said they had rooms available so we were able to save money by not paying for parking at the convention center - SCORE!  After checking into our room we got things organized and headed to the expo - as we left though we realized our door wasn't locking correctly!  After playing with it for about 5 minutes Tommy was able to get our room secured.  Downstairs we asked to be pointed in the direction of the expo - they said we should take the trolley because it wasn't walkable.

After over 10 hours in the car, the last thing I wanted to do was sit on my butt in a trolley!  I decided to risk it and we headed out on foot.  After getting turned around and walking an extra half mile or so, we finally made it to the expo.  I am still trying to figure out why the route wasn't walkable - we walked it at least 6-8 times that weekend and saw many people doing the same!  Anyway, inside I found my bib number and picked up my bib and race shirt then we hit up the St Jude merchandise area.  I ended up buying myself an ornament, Daniel an ornament, a 26.2 bumper sticker, and a teddy bear for Natalie.  I was super bummed that they didn't have a marathon weekend logo sweatshirt.  They had St Jude ones but I wanted one with mention of the marathon too.

Ignore the goofy pose and slippers! 

The expo itself wasn't all that great. There were a couple booths I stopped to look at, but nothing I couldn't say no to.  Many of the exhibitors weren't set up yet.  I did get my fist peek at the medal and talked with the pace team.  The best part of course was the heroes area.  You walked down the red carpet and could get photos taken in a photo booth.  They were also passing out pasta samples (I skipped them) and you could pick up your pasta party tickets, vip lounge stuff, exchange singlet sizes, pick up items to cheer on heroes/runners as well as an area to drop off last minute donations.

We did donate $5 to a charity group and two puzzles to the kids at St Jude.  (They had dollar store type items set up and you could buy them for your kids and the money goes to charity, or you could donate the toys to the hospital)  Since my kids have so many toys already, we had Natalie pick out two puzzles - she loved knowing she was giving a gift to someone else!

After that, we headed back to our hotel where we ordered dinner from the TGIF that was just downstairs.  We knew the kids weren't up to eating out after the long day in the car.  Hubby had Korean tacos of some sort and I had Kung Pao Chicken - again, not the greatest choice, but the best given my options!  After filling our bellies, we fell asleep pretty early.  Me and two kids in a double bed - I knew it would be a long night!

Enough rambling for now.. up next in tomorrow's post - Friday excitement and race prep!

Never Satisfied.

I think I am broken... I am never satisfied, never fully able to be proud of something that I accomplished.  I am always comparing myself to others and wondering why I am not good enough to do what they do.


I just raised over $3,000 for St Jude Children's Research Hospital... my response?
     "But I want to raise more... so-and-so raised $$, what do they do better than me?"

I just finished a full marathon... my response?
     "But I didn't really run it, anyone can walk 26.2 miles (yes, I know this is flawed logic).   So-and-so ran it in x:xx and I know I should be able to do the about the same.  What do they do that I don't?  Why are they successful and I wasn't?"


Granted, I know finishing this marathon was a HUGE accomplishment.  I know raising money for St Jude makes a big difference.  At the end of the day I felt no pride when I crossed that finish line, I was numb from the disappointment of the last 3 hours.

I have to pull myself out of this stupor because its not good for my mental well being or my physical well being (I eat when I am depressed and have gained 5-10 pounds)....

A race recap is coming, I just want to take a few days to process it so its hopefully not such a downer!

Marathon Monday: The Countdown!

My marathon is this Saturday, how did we get here so quickly?!?  I feel like I have followed the training plan pretty much to a "tee" so I am hoping that means that I am ready for this challenge!   I gained a few pounds over Thanksgiving so I am slightly worried about that.

I have had one pretty bad nightmare about the marathon - started out too fast, bonked by mile 4, ran a loop twice when I should have run it once (and it was a BIG loop), then the course (which was marked by chalk) wasn't marked at a corner so I had no clue which way to go and had to wait for a course marshall to direct me, and last but not least I got lost in the hills/woods and was unable to finish the race.  So far I have only had the one nightmare so I guess I got all my fears out in one terrifying night!

This last week was a pretty easy one as far as the miles go

Tuesday: 4 miles (on the treadmill)
Wednesday: 6 miles
Thursday: 3.45 miles (with my little girl)
Saturday: 8.15 miles
  Total for the week: 21.6 miles

I leave on Thursday to head to Memphis.  I am mostly packed and ready, just playing the waiting game.  Oh, and nervously watching the weather.  Right now, things aren't looking how I would like them to.  There is a chance of rain and the temps are going to top out at nearly 70 degrees!  Some people may love the warm weather - but I am a cold weather runner and have been training in the 30s and 40s.  Hoping I will be able to adjust to the heat (and potentially humidity).

And, for those of you who haven't yet... please consider making a donation to my fundraising here. They have a "contest" going on today and if I can get 5 donations I will earn a commemorative poster for marathon weekend!

Marathon Monday and Race Recap

Like any other Saturday, I got up early and laced up my tennis shoes headed out the door.  The difference was that I wasn't headed out for a long run, I was headed out to run the Turkey Trot 5k at Fox Island.  My goal was simple, to have a good time and not injure myself - I am far too close to my marathon to do something stupid now!

I let the "top runner" in our age group go and settled into a comfortable pace.  I started out easy, trying not to swear at all the little ones who don't quite understand race etiquette and kept running in the middle of the trail so you couldn't pass, or even running and cutting in front of me.  That first mile was a test of my patience for sure.  After the first mile, the crowd finally started to thin out some and  I ended up running side by side with another top runner of similar age for a while.  After I bit I decided I had just a bit more to give so I slowly pushed the pace up a bit.  I ran behind two people for a bit letting them control the pace and even out my breathing and the like.

As I approached about 2.25 2.5 miles I saw the "top runner" up ahead - I figured she was probably too far ahead to catch but I wanted to push myself just a bit, so I politely asked to pass and upped my speed a bit.  I somehow managed to get within sprinting distance of the "competition" and decided to just hang there for a  bit.  As I saw the finish line in view I tried to push ahead of her and she took off, my kick wasn't going to be enough so I told her "great job, you got it... finish strong, I don't have it today."  Yet somehow, as we hit the pavement my legs decided they have more to give and I pushed hard (my garmin shows 6:00 something min/mile at the end).

I was able to cross the finish mat just a hair ahead of her, and chip time showed I had won my age group by .2 seconds!  I have never been more proud of winning my age group.  I have done it before, but I felt like I ran this race smart and to me, that means more than the pie I won.  I have been struggling with the "mental" side of running and I feel like I am finally making some progress there!

As far as my "Marathon Monday" summary - here's how it went.  It's not nearly as exciting now a days, the miles aren't as long and quite frankly I am ENJOYING IT!  Maybe "taper madness" will settle in sometime in the next two weeks?  (I highly doubt it!)

Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 8 miles
Friday: 12 miles
Saturday: 3.1 miles
   Total for the week: 28.1 miles (ahh, loving the taper!)

Friday's long run was one of my fastest during my marathon training (9 minute miles).  I meant to take it easy, but I am blaming the speed on the mileage cutback as well as having a time limit for the run. (Nothing interesting to note here, it was loops around the Y, no bathroom breaks or walk breaks, WOOHOO)


In the category of "bad news" I think I am getting a touch of a cold... anyone have any tips to clear this mess up quickly?  I am trying to remember the vitamins every day as well as stay  hydrated - anything else I am missing?