It has a been a crazy four days and I have loved every single minute of it. I am not going to go into all the details of the craziness as it would ended being a 5 page blog post and who really wants to read that?
Instead I will go over the training that has happened as I have not had a chance to post my daily training posts like I have been doing for over a 100 days now.
Thursday – I had a 5 mile run planned. Due to some mistakes on my part I had to get up and run to my school to create some sub plans after making a mistake with the new sub calling system. Long story short it was all figured out and I taught Thursday. However, due to the chaos I was only able to get in 3.5 miles. I ran the 3.5 miles in 28:55 for a 8:11 time. It was freezing cold! I was way under dressed. The water from a sprinkler was frozen on the sidewalk. I tried to sidestep this and in the process rolled my foot that I have had problems with and my foot the rest of the way. So running out of time was probably the best thing to happen.
Friday – normally this would be a rest day, but Amanda was headed to Chicago for the weekend right after school so I had to get this run in. I ran 5.64 miles in 47:50 running at 8:29 pace. I am still struggling to get dialed in to a lower mile pace that I need for the marathon. This was a nice run and probably one of the few times where I have ran four times in a row without feeling worn out. This was just what I needed.
Saturday – rest day of running, but nonstop busy chasing three kids around the house and getting them to all their destinations.
Sunday – today I was able to get out and run around 4 pm. Amanda got home later and when the house was somewhat calm I headed out. It was raining and as soon as I took off the rain increased. I got soaked. I felt like crap. My stomach was bouncing liquids and food around, my legs went numb on me like they were worn out after a mile, my foot felt tender, and my knees hurt from the change in weather. I was a mess. I formed a bad attitude and wondered why I was doing this…….
I then remembered a blog post I read earlier in the day from Katie Gaffney about embracing the rain. I thought about her words and the book I just finished, The Distance by David Mills, and I decided to stop being pouty and just run. I decided to embrace the rain like Gaffney and just enjoy the moment. I changed my frame of mind and I ended up loving the run. It was the best 7 miles I had after going through 3 terrible miles. Yes, all those aches and pains were still there, but they were not going to bring me down. I stopped very shortly at mile 5 to consume a GU gel and some water and to take off my jacket that I had on. Despite the aches, once I changed my frame of mind I was kicking butt. I ran the 10 miles in 78 minutes for a 7:51 mile pace. I felt good. I feel good. I am ready.
I am six days away from achieving a goal that I have been focused on for over four months. Each day this week I will focus on something as I countdown to my big day. I am over the mind of not sure I can do this to finally knowing in my heart this is going to happen. I cannot believe it is almost here!! I will be GETTING IT DONE! in six days.
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