T-Minus 5 days!

I ran my first long run in my new shoes two weeks ago, after my last post.  I was actually pleasantly surprised, even with the half size bigger, the shoes still worked out great.  I only suffered a few blisters on my big toe, nothing a little body-glide can't fix the day of the race.  They are fancy blue too. 

Today I bought a matching colored tank-top so that it might be a little bit easier for my family to spot me.  I almost bought a t-shirt the color of a traffic cone, but I really didn't need a t-shirt that hideously colored in my closet.  I'm sure my family will spot me without the fluorescent orange!

I did manage a 23.25 mile run.  It went surprisingly well.  I cheated a little and sat in Stefhan's police car for five minutes while I chowed down a pop tart and orange gatorade.  I promise it was no longer than five minutes though!  The last three miles were uphill as usual.  I wanted to continue the extra three miles to make it 26.2, but I figured I'd save the glory for Sunday.

Definitely not the best weather today.

Today was my last long run before the race.  I had some slight knee pain that came and went, but I feel pretty confident that I'll be healthy enough for a strong finish Sunday.  It snowed during most of the run and my hands were freezing cold.  A completely different running environment than what I will be experiencing on Sunday.  Today it was 38 degrees outside and it will be somewhere around 70 degrees on Sunday.  I pray that running at sea level will work to my advantage!

Thanks in advance to all my friends and family for supporting me during my running.  I know that I have had to sacrifice some time spent together so that I could get my training runs in and I appreciate your help so much. 

You probably won't hear from me until after the race.  I only have 20 minute and 2 mile runs to do before race day.  I can't believe it's been a year in the making.  And I really can't believe how far I've come already.  Before I started the marathon training, my longest run was 9 miles in the academy.  Before that, my longest run was 4 miles.  It's hard to believe what you can do when you put your mind to it.  Now let's just hope my body can hold up for one more big long run!

Wish me luck!
Charli