THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

WEEK 17

It is the final countdown. A mere 10 days to go before I lay everything on the line and run in my very first marathon. 26 miles at 26 years old. I've learned a lot about myself on this journey. I think I am most humbled by all of the help from others that I have received. It seems like it has taken a village to raise this future marathoner from running 3 miles in the grass to her first 20 mile run around Clemson earlier in the training plan. I've got a friend who will drive almost 5 hours to watch ME run! Wow. First off, how many people enjoy watching someone run? Not many because long distance running is not really a specatator friendly sport. I've also learned to pay it forward. I invite one person to the track to run, they invite their friend, who invited their neighbor and the momentum continues. At one time, 10 friends were at the track, going in circles, running or walking, at their own pace. What an awesome sight.

I went shoe shopping today. No, this is not your typical girls weekend at the mall spent trying on pumps and walking down imaginary runways and posing as if you had stuck your pinky in an electric outlet. This is an athlete's shoe heaven. Walls of the most gorgeous shoes you have ever seen, some rainbow, some black, some with polka dots, beautiful in the eye of the individual beholder. This is Go Tri Sports, home of shoe guru, Jeff. With the help of Jeff, I was able to narrow down my selection to two pairs. I know, 10 days to go, and you don't know which shoes you will wear yet? Yes, I know, crazy. It is a fine balance with the many shoe choices. I would like a sturdy shoe, but one that is still light and responsive. I will also be taping my foot to help with the extra pronation I have when I run. I tried on lots of shoes, ranging from vibrant blues and reds to Euro whites, but still found that my favorite shoe was a pair that I had brought with me. These electric green racers will hopefully ignite a spark in my step. As a back up for a trial run this Thursday, I have 'borrowed' from the store another good pair of shoes that offer slightly more support. How cool is it when stores let you borrow shoes to try? Think of all the stinky feet :), not mine of course!

2/22/11 As a substitute to the sprint workout to be had at the track, I swam at the Central Rec. pool with my training partner Danette. I would say I swam with Ian, but it is more justly said that he swam circles around me and ahead of me. Ian proved to me today that intervals in the pool can provide quite the anaerobic workout. I can honestly say, I have never swam so hard in my life than I did today. I lost count of the laps as my head becamse swimmy with oxygen deprivation. My chest was on fire and I began to breathe every stroke as opposed to my usual every other as my lungs burned for that precious oxygen. I could have puked, although I didn't. I could have happily passed out, although I didn't. I could have eaten a horse after exiting the pool and cooling down, but I didn't. I did however savor every tortuous moment and am looking forward to doing it again. But, you know what I did do today? Exactly that, I DID! I lived in the moment.

I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready.

2/24 TEMPO DAY! In 21 days I have run three times. Wow, this is mind boggling. I was on a mission today to gain confidence and do a workout from the Boston training plan. David Bright, PT at Excel Rehab hooked me up with some amazing heat molded inserts to give my arches a lift. This lift was literal as much as it was psychological. Today, was the first day in quite some time that I felt good when my left foot striked the ground. I could feel that I was actually not collapsing as much to the inside. My arches were supported! I owe a huge thanks to David who spent a large amount of time looking at all 4 pairs of my running shoes, heat molding inserts for me, and even pulling out kinesio tape to talk about using it for the run. It looked like a shoe graveyard as we muddled thru the shoes. His suggestion, run in the beefy shoes with support, no tape, and use the inserts. I ran in them today, and it worked like a gem. Will I run in the heavy shoes on marathon day, not likely, when the racing shoes are lighter and save time.

I felt great today, very rested and springy, and tapered! A shout out to Todd and Danette for the company!

DISTANCE: 6 miles total

TEMPO: 4 miles at 7:50